(for freeaafia.org)
A poll has recently been published in the Ummat newspaper asking the readers to choose between Aafia and Malala.
"Mazloom kon Aafia ya Malala?" To read the article with the poll (in Urdu) Click here
To read the rest of Purcell's Op Ed Click here
Be sure to look around in the same website for much more information on Dr. Aafia.
***************
Sara Flounders, of the International Action Center (IAC), and former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney will be departing in a few days for Pakistan regarding Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. We wish them a safe and successful journey to and from our sister's turbulent homeland. Please sign and pass on the new IAC generated petition for Aafia below.
SIGN the Petition for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui! Repatriate Aafia to Pakistan! SIGN THE PETITION AT
www.iacenter.org/SiddiquiPetition
OR GO here
As part of a continuing campaign to secure the repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to Pakistan, former U.S. Congress member Cynthia McKinney and International Action Center Co-Director Sara Flounders will travel to Pakistan Dec 2 to 9. Their visit is not the first delegation. It is part of continuing series of meetings organized by Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, Aafia Siddiqui's sister, and the Free Aafia Movement to help to strengthen the international campaign for the release of this Pakistani political prisoner held for years in solitary confinement and sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in U.S. federal prison.
A growing movement in Pakistan is seeking commitments not to allow the transfer to the U.S. of any person held in Pakistani custody until and unless Aafia Siddiqui is returned to Pakistan.
Aafia Siddiqui holds a place in the hearts of people of conscience internationally irrespective of their faith, nationality or location. There is immense international outrage about the conditions of Aafia's imprisonment, which represents the U.S. policy of secret rendition and the many disappeared and missing in Pakistan. Aafia Siddiqui and her family have repeatedly maintained that she and her three young children were kidnapped in March 2003; while in U.S. custody, Aafia was subsequently tortured and held in isolation for 5 years in Afghanistan.
In February 2011, the International Justice Network published a report revealing shocking new evidence that Aafia had been abducted in Karachi by Pakistani security forces in March 2003. The government of Pakistan has never denied the allegations set forth in the report. The U.S. has denied and ignored their involvement in Aafia's kidnapping and imprisonment; however on January 23, 2012, Khurshid Kasuri, former foreign minister of Pakistan under General Musharraf, admitted handing over Dr. Aafia to the U.S. and expressed his regret.
It is important to know that:
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is a citizen of Pakistan. She was not charged with committing any crime on U.S. soil, nor is she a U.S. citizen. She should not have been extradited to the U.S. or put on trial in the U.S.
Her trial in New York City in 2010 was confined to dealing only with what happened within 5 minutes in a 300 square-foot room in Afghanistan. She was tried for attempting to shoot U.S. interrogators in this room in 2008. Although the only person injured in the supposed attack was Siddiqui herself - she was shot in the stomach -- the court sentenced her to 86 years in prison. The court prohibited any discussion of her original kidnapping and years of imprisonment.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was not charged with terrorism, nor was she ever charged with injuring or harming anyone anywhere. She is a victim of terrible life-threatening injuries.
In Pakistan millions of people have called for the release of Aafia Siddiqui. Internationally many people have already signed this petition and since August 14, 2010 it has generated more than 100,000 email messages directly to the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, U.S. President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, members of U.S. Congress and Pakistani Parliament, UN officials and major media.
We urge all individuals concerned with human rights to again make their voices heard and sign this international petition to U.S. and Pakistani government officials, with copies to U.S. and Pakistani media, urging the immediate repatriation to Pakistan of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
For more information on Aafia Siddiqui see: FreeAafia.com
Please sign this petition and send it on to others.
SIGN THE PETITION AT
www.iacenter.org/SiddiquiPetition
PETITION WORDING
Repatriate Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to her home in Pakistan NOW!
To: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joseph Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, Sen. John Kerry (Chairperson, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee), congressional leaders, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar
cc: Ban Ki-Moon (Secretary-General, United Nations), UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, UN High Commissioner on Refugees, and members of the Pakistani and U.S. media.
Dear President Barack Obama, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf:
I urge you to repatriate Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to her native Pakistan as a matter of urgency. Given all the facts and circumstances of this case, repatriation of Dr. Siddiqui to Pakistan would not only serve the interests of justice, but is also warranted on humanitarian grounds.
There are numerous credible reports that Dr. Siddiqui was abducted from Pakistan with her three young children in March 2003. Dr. Siddiqui claims that her captors detained her in a series of secret prisons for five years during which time she was abused in a variety of ways and tortured. Her youngest son, Suleman, remains missing to this day.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is a citizen of Pakistan. She was not charged with committing any crime on U.S. soil, nor is she a U.S. citizen. She should not have been extradited to the U.S.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was not charged with terrorism nor was she ever charged with injuring or harming anyone anywhere. She is a victim of terrible life-threatening injuries.
The plight of the disappeared and missing in Pakistan is a cause of great national pain. Let us begin with this act of compassion to address this grievous problem.
In light of the circumstances of this case, in which it appears that at a minimum Dr. Siddiqui suffered severe physical and emotional trauma, we call upon you to exercise all lawful authority to allow Dr. Siddiqui to be repatriated to Pakistan on humanitarian grounds.
We urge that no prisoner held in Pakistani custody be transferred to the U.S. until Dr Aafia Siddiqui is returned to Pakistan.
Sincerely,
(Your signature here)
SIGN THE PETITION AT
www.iacenter.org/SiddiquiPetition
For more information on Aafia Siddiqui see: FreeAafia.com
===========
The Political Imprisonment of
DR. AAFIA SIDDIQUI
A Litmus Test for Muslims in America
A Lecture by
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
(Director of Operations, The Peace Thru Justice Foundation)
Saturday, December 1, 2012 .... 5 PM
ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF CENTRAL JERSEY (ISCJ)
4145 US HIGHWAY 1,
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852-2150
www.iscj.org - (732) 329-8126
No comments:
Post a Comment
As long as there is reasonable courtesy, I will not moderate much if at all -- nor require signing in.