Dr. AAFIA Siddiqui in US Court Wednesday: MEDIA References

An FBI picture of Aafia Siddiqui, released in 2003, when she was named as a suspect over links to al-Qaida operatives. Photo: AP & at LA Times Sept 23 '09

Dr. Siddiqui due to appear in Court Wednesday 1:00 - 2:30 EST NYC area (Manhattan) Find more details AT CAGE PRISONERS DOT COM here and the possibly related in terms of future available facts of detention during missing years? ACLU sues for Bagram information: here

NOTE: There is quite a good AUDIO by Gideon Oliver for background on Dr. Siddiqui and write up at muslimsforjustices got org here In video a lawyer - who worked with senior lawyer, Elaine Sharp (who is currently in the lawyer team today - states: "I can tell you for sure she was shot!" (when detained in Afghanistan by US official)... and she was questioned continually over time WITHOUT a lawyer. Like Mr. Shafique says above they were abusing the victim. Lawyer in video states that this was/is an "Attempted murder case (on Aafia) by US official"...He stated here concerning her conditions that among many other abuses : "Strip searches which were incredibly traumatic for her" (to the point where her mental health was affected by these)...

...Her lawyers tried to prevent (the strip searches without good result)...she got where she would not consent to strip searches in order to appear in court."...Judge Berman assigned in Sept. 2008 ordered that she be seen by a female doctor...yet strip searches were still required...Sounds like December 17, 2008 may have been the last time Elaine Sharp was present in court with Aafia.

TO HELP:
The lawyer (in video above) asks that those who want to help: "SHED LIGHT"...SHOW UP in court whenever possible to support both Dr. Siddiqui AND the lawyers...SEND comforting MAIL minus items about her case. (look for a new address at cageprisoners.com by search or at muslimsforjustice dot org) He mentions 55-65 pg appellette in another case which is similar to Aafia in that it describes similar outlandish treatment and misconduct in US judicial system and the need to read more about what's being done to detainees under US authority and whether or not our rule of law is actually being followed.

The information earlier up until now indicates that two of Dr. Aafia's children are likely still missing while the eldest - a son - has been returned to her family.

SEPTEMBER A few news items: (in summary)

September 22, 2009 "BAGRAM and the Fine Print": If Pakistanis are imprisoned at Bagram - the Pakistani government needs to try them in Pakistani courts. Our government must stand up to unlawful detentions at Bagram: the emotional public response to Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case shows that Pakistanis don’t take kindly to seeing their own in US custody. Find this at Dawn dot com

At a court appearance on September 3, 2009 the date for the start of Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s trial was set for Monday, November 2. (this may or may not have changed?) The court room was full of Pakistani and other Muslim supporters. Supporters of the Pakistan USA Freedom Forum and other organizations have mobilized on days when Dr Siddiqui is brought into court. But this case must be handled by the progressive movement in the U.S. and related immigrant's and women's rights, including anti-racism and anti-war movements. (Also at Dawn dot com ?)

See more on above info: here

Sara Flounders, the Co-Director of the International Action Center released the following statement to the media on Friday, September 5, 2009, following the September 3 court appearance of Dr Aafia Siddiqui in U.S. District Court in New York City: " Now that the documents recording the systematic torture of thousands of prisoners in secret U.S. prisons has been released to the world media in U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s report, the secret documents on the imprisonment and torture of Dr Aafia Siddiqui must also be released to the courts and to the world."

SEE Free DR. Aafia Siddiqui, Release The Secret U.S. Documents on her Torture here To Contact those campaigning in NYC at this center:
International Action Center
55 West 17th St, Suite 5C
New York, NY 10011
www.iacenter.org 212-633-6646

AUGUST 2009
Dr-Aafia-Siddiqui-back-in-spotlight By Maria Khan August 21, 2009
Recap of Dr. Siddiqui's background and current events leading to today's court event.here
(Note that, although the recap of the events may be useful and these are done well, there is some confusion - looks like the newspaper's accident as article merges into the photos with some unfair implications by juxtaposition perhaps nothing to do with the writer at all or an accident by newspaper.)

The Trials and Tribulations related to this mysterious and troubling case has been put into Chronology and can be accessed here and the chronology continues by following items as they come up at Cage Prisoners dot com here then put Aafia or Aafia Siddiqui into Search and then by DATE.

DON'T BLAME THE VICTIM: Analytical Report written by Mr. Khurrum Ali Shafique and published on the People’s Resistance mailing list analyzes the abduction of Dr. Aafia Siddqui and her ongoing trial in the US Courts. Please take time to read the report and if you agree with the contents then it would be a great help if you can join in the effort to spread the word far and wide to get more support for her.

Here are some excerpts: On March 30, 2003, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui disappeared from Karachi along with her three minor children. Media reported that she had been taken by the US authorities with compliance of Pakistani authorities since the FBI had wanted to seek some information from her. In the face of general outcry, the US and Pakistani authorities quickly backtracked but then a year later Pakistani Foreign Office admitted publicly that Aafia had been handed over to the US.

She became a concern for human rights organizations including AMNESTY International who kept the case alive for FIVE years. On July 6, 2008, political party Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf presented a British journalist in Islamabad who said there was reason to believe that Aafia was the “Prisoner 650″ at Bagram (Afghanistan) and had undergone brutal rape and torture for five years. Outcry reaches a high water mark and urgent appeals were sent by Asian Human Rights Commission on July 22, to President George Bush and other persons of authority.

On August 4, the US authorities officially admitted of having Aafia in their custody but the US Department of Justice brought forth a charge sheet against her, claiming that she was arrested on July 17 (and not before) while loitering around near the residence of Ghazni’s Governor. They alleged that papers found in her handbag included instructions on making bombs and notes about installations in US.

They explained her wounds by saying that a day after her arrest she took an M4 rife which belonged to US military personnel and fired two rounds at close range, which missed, and she had to be shot in the torso.

On August 16, the US envoy to Pakistan made a public statement saying that the US had no “definitive knowledge” of the whereabouts of Aafia’s children but only a few days later the Afghan authorities revealed that an 11-year-old boy had also been “arrested” with Aafia and this boy was then repatriated to be received by Aafia’s family as her eldest son...

Three anomalies in the trial

Basically: (a) victim has become the accused; (b) allegations are not being addressed in proper order; and (c) allegations against US authorities by human rights groups and concerned citizens are going un-addressed.
Victim has become the accused

Those who say that they hope to get justice from US legal system in this case are overlooking the fact that the trial is not being held to provide justice to Aafia. It is being held against her.2 Allegations not addressed in proper order

The case involves three allegations, not one. These need to be addressed in the order in which they appeared:

1. The FBI’s declaration that it needed Dr. Aafia Siddiqui for interrogation
2. Allegations raised by human rights organizations and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf that Aafia Siddiqui was being illegally detained, raped and tortured by US authorities (with possible compliance of Pakistani authorities) for five years, and that her three minor children were in illegal detention. July 6, 2008 is the high water mark for this allegation.
3. Allegation raised by US authorities against Dr. Aafia Siddiqui that she tried to assassinate US army personnel on July 18, 2008. This allegation was brought forth on August 4, 2008.

The first of these has not been legally pursued by authorities even after they admitted having custody of Aafia. Hence it may be considered as dropped.

The second allegation, which is against US authorities, has never been answered seriously except for a flat rebuttal in inappropriate and condescending tone (consider the US envoy’s open letter of August 16).

Now the third allegation is being addressed in a court of law without addressing the second.3 This leads to great confusion. The victim has been given into the custody of the party accused of committing offenses against her, and mandate is given to them to further curtail her liberties as a “high security risk”.

Let’s understand: it’s not as if US Government said that it would rather like to keep Aafia in a rehabilitation center in America for treatment of torments suffered by her during five-year-long illegal detention. The victim is now in custody of the party accused of committing the following atrocities against her:

1. Abduction and illegal detention of the victim
2. Abduction and illegal detention of the victim’s minor children
3. Attempt of coercing the victim to sign false evidence
4. Threatening the victim with murder of her children
5. Sexual abuse, rape and torture
6. Attempted brainwashing
7. Possibly, murder of two of the victim’s minor children

The first step should have been to ensure that the party accused of committing these offenses didn’t have any further access to her with malevolent intent. The opposite has happened.

Aafia’s transfer from military to civil authorities doesn’t ensure that her abusers have lost influence: responding to journalists’ question about why they didn’t seek bail?...Can she get justice from US legal system?

READ the rest for MORE OF THE BEST ARGUMENTS IN CASE with salient points here

OTHER KEY OLDER ITEMS:
August 08, 2008 Pakistan Mystery of 'ghost of Bagram' - victim of torture or captured in a shootout? Placed as an earlier blogpost: here Find this one also on The Guardian site UK here with this brief statement: Mother of three in court after five-year disappearance ends in Afghanistan amid conflicting claims

FOR other older posts with list of other sites which may still have items on Dr. Aafia go here