In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, Republican President George W. Bush launched illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush enacted “anti-terrorism” policies under which people could be labelled “terror suspects” without evidence and abducted, jailed and tortured in secret. “Extraordinary rendition” involves taking people on undocumented CIA flights either to black sites — a worldwide network of secret CIA jails — or to the torture chambers of US-allied dictatorships. ....Unfortunately, Obama’s Democrat administration is continuing many of the policies of its predecessor.... ....Like the Bush regime, the Obama administration continues to operate secret prisons around the world, in which detainees are tortured and the International Committee for the Red Cross denied access.
Obama has resisted demands for investigations into the criminal activities of the previous government. The justice department has blocked lawsuits that demand release of evidence or seek civil penalties against US officials involved in human rights abuses.... ....The US jail at Bagram airbase in occupied Afghanistan — described as worse than Guantanamo Bay by prisoners who have been detained in both — is being expanded. ...The murky world of “extraordinary rendition”, and the continuity between the policies of Bush and Obama, is highlighted by the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist and US citizen of Pakistani origin. Siddiqui disappeared from Karachi in 2003 with her three young children. Pakistani newspapers reported that she had been arrested, with her children, for having terrorist links. However, from 2004, US officials began claiming that she was not in their custody but was wanted for providing logistical support to al-Qaeda. She was accused of, among other crimes, smuggling diamonds in Liberia to raise funds for al-Qaeda in June 2001. However, in June 2001 she was in Boston running a play group.
In 2005, former Bagram detainees reported that there was a female prisoner being held in the jail, and that they had heard her being tortured. US officials denied any woman was being held in Bagram. On July 7, 2008, British journalist Yvonne Ridley held a press conference claiming that Siddiqui was indeed held in Bagram. On August 4, 2008, US officials admitted that she was in US custody in Afghanistan....
...US authorities said that on July 18, while she was in custody, she grabbed the rifle of one of her US captors and attempted to kill them all. She was shot twice but survived. It was for this alleged attempted murder that she was extradited to the US and went to trial on January 19. She was not charged with any offences related to the allegations made against her at the time of her disappearance. Neither was she charged over the chemicals and documents she was allegedly in possession of. These materials have never been produced.
On February 3, she was convicted of attempted murder, despite FBI experts testifying that the rifle she was alleged to have grabbed did not have her fingerprints on it and showed no evidence of being fired. Siddiqui said she was held in Bagram from 2003 and tortured and raped. Her two youngest children have disappeared...
President Karzai referred to some conversation about the children of Aafia Siddiqi during the talks which he said changed his mind to speak other than the prepared statement.
“I had a prepared statement but in the event during bilateral talks I changed my mind about it. That event was a little conversation between us about two children of Aafia Siddiqui,....who are probably in Afghanistan.” The Afghan President said that he had sent the elder boy of Aafia Siddiqui back to Pakistan soon after he knew that he was in Afghanistan.
However, he added, “Hearing of the two other children I was struck with emotions and I am still under that impression”, he said and added, “this tragedy of the two children brings us to the tragedy of two countries, sufferings of the two countries”.
Poem Dedicated to Dr Aafia on Women's Day, March 8, 2010
Aafia Siddiqui: daughter of humanity
The world has many heroes Many great sisters, super fellows But Dear Aafia, very unique Strong in faith, weak physique Her message of peace and love Soars the skies as a white dove
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
Wars peoples have fought For centuries people distraught Each battle for various freedoms New borders and new kingdoms Countries dividing, boundaries increasing Flags multiplying, morals decreasing
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
In this era of chaotic derail Sorrows and injustice prevail A weak and feeble woman A barely live, fragile skeleton Aafia a hero, standing for a cause Peace! Not an enemy, never was
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
Wake up call for a sleeping nation Reviving honor in a shameless situation Her plight, her strength and intensity Courage, passion and bravery Her battle has no boundaries Injustice her target, vanquish atrocities
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
Every victim coerced she symbolize Humanity her army ready to rise Her hurt, Her pain, and humiliations Unites the hearts of several nations One slogan one cry, STOP, STOP Torture and rendition, STOP, STOP
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
When in court she will appear, head up high Adorned with brutal bruises, all will sigh Her opponent, king of all atrocity Compelled to bow down to Her piety Full of discord, hostility, animosity Conceited vanity, will submit to her humility
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
Dear Lord, her trial a mockery of justice Jury verdict of hate and prejudice No crime proved, or evidence shown America, Isreal’s nasty cover blown Dear Lord, Now we see her destiny Saintly hero! Great martyr of this century
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
Pride of Islam, love of Pakistan Biggest threat to evils terror plan Her freedom, imprisons terror, misery Ends war to stability, Raises economy Feeding on war, Her captors, go hungry her release, enlightens their criminality
Aafia Siddiqui, daughter of humanity Guiding the world towards unity
Dr Aafia prominent in Women's Day events in Pakistan
Message from Dr Aafia's family on the ocassion of her birthday
2nd March 2010 marks Aafia’s 7th birthday and approximately 2,540 days in captivity. Many supporters decided to mark the occasion by celebrating the day. True, it is odd that we will celebrate without Aafia being amongst us. In fact, Aafia was not much for celebrating birthdays. But we will celebrate to remind us that Aafia is not forgotten and remains very much among us, in spirit, even if she is physically locked up in a coffin sized US prison cell.
This day marks the first birthday when the US claims to have taken the rest of Aafia’s life (even though 7 years have already been taken away from her and her children). But we will use this to mark the first birthday of Aafia, the daughter of the Pakistani Nation. We have come to realize that Aafia is no longer just our sister and daughter or just another political prisoner from the “War of Terror”; she is the living symbol of all that has become of her nation and its honor. So, on March 2nd, we remember on behalf of the entire nation.
We use this as the beginning of a calendar and a commitment to seek not only Aafia’s restoration to her family, but also the safe return of all missing persons and, most importantly, the restoration of peace and security in the nation that stood up for its daughter when others hid in fear.
While we celebrate, we will ask all supporters to let this truly be a celebration, not a venue for anger or excuse to harm any person or property. Let it be a message to those who would like to propagate the lies that Aafia is violent or her supporters are radicals, that while we are determined to defend and fight for our honor and expose the lies, we will do so in a dignified and restrained manner. We will not let the perpetrators of the “War of Terror” be our teachers. We will show, InshaAllah, that Aafia can be brought back and the Pakistani nation can unite and act with resolve - and do so in a manner that shows the best of our Islamic and Pakistani heritage. We want to show that emotions can be channeled into action and slogans into results instead of rants.
This is also the month of Rabi-ul-Awal, the month in which our blessed prophet Muhammad (SAAW) both entered and also departed from this world. And so, it is an opportunity to not only celebrate life but also reflect on what one makes of it. In the end we enter and exit alone. We enter with nothing and leave with nothing except the account of how we lived. The day to day trials and triumphs, the joys and sorrow, the wealth and poverty, the arrogance of power and the burden of oppression - these are all transient conditions that never stay the same. In the end it is only how a person reacts to these that matters and is remembered.
Our lives are testimony to this. What we learn from this is to maintain perspective. Not easy nor always successful, but essential to maintaining sanity. When this is attempted, it is surprising how the blessings of God become evident even in the worst of circumstances and humility becomes essential in each success. This is how we come to find reason to celebrate at a time when the world would have us mourn.
Yes, an American court, out of fear, condemned Aafia, but through that trial it also exposed the total lack of any evidence against Aafia and the naked cover up of all that was done to her. Yet, this very act of condemnation also raised her status in the entire Muslim world from a victim to a heroine. She went from being a name to a symbol, from a mother’s daughter to the daughter of a nation. Yet, we know labels are also transient. We remember when she was a pariah, the most dangerous woman in the world and to some she still is. But, then, as now, to us she remains a simple human being - a sister, a daughter, a mother.
So, whether people celebrate a national symbol, the rise of a heroine, the face of all missing persons or the memory of a terror victim, we hope they will also remember that underneath all that is a tortured human being named Aafia Siddiqui and it is for her living memory that we celebrate - in joy and not in sorrow.
May God Bless You
Message from Dr Aafia's family on the ocassion of her birthday Dr Aafia's birthday - March 2nd - to be celebrated, not mourned.
2nd March 2010 marks Aafia’s 7th birthday and approximately 2,540 days in captivity. Many supporters decided to mark the occasion by celebrating the day. True, it is odd that we will celebrate without Aafia being amongst us. In fact, Aafia was not much for celebrating birthdays. But we will celebrate to remind us that Aafia is not forgotten and remains very much among us, in spirit, even if she is physically locked up in a coffin sized US prison cell.
This day marks the first birthday when the US claims to have taken the rest of Aafia’s life (even though 7 years have already been taken away from her and her children). But we will use this to mark the first birthday of Aafia, the daughter of the Pakistani Nation. We have come to realize that Aafia is no longer just our sister and daughter or just another political prisoner from the “War of Terror”; she is the living symbol of all that has become of her nation and its honor. So, on March 2nd, we remember on behalf of the entire nation.
We use this as the beginning of a calendar and a commitment to seek not only Aafia’s restoration to her family, but also the safe return of all missing persons and, most importantly, the restoration of peace and security in the nation that stood up for its daughter when others hid in fear.
While we celebrate, we will ask all supporters to let this truly be a celebration, not a venue for anger or excuse to harm any person or property. Let it be a message to those who would like to propagate the lies that Aafia is violent or her supporters are radicals, that while we are determined to defend and fight for our honor and expose the lies, we will do so in a dignified and restrained manner. We will not let the perpetrators of the “War of Terror” be our teachers. We will show, InshaAllah, that Aafia can be brought back and the Pakistani nation can unite and act with resolve - and do so in a manner that shows the best of our Islamic and Pakistani heritage. We want to show that emotions can be channeled into action and slogans into results instead of rants.
This is also the month of Rabi-ul-Awal, the month in which our blessed prophet Muhammad (SAAW) both entered and also departed from this world. And so, it is an opportunity to not only celebrate life but also reflect on what one makes of it. In the end we enter and exit alone. We enter with nothing and leave with nothing except the account of how we lived. The day to day trials and triumphs, the joys and sorrow, the wealth and poverty, the arrogance of power and the burden of oppression - these are all transient conditions that never stay the same. In the end it is only how a person reacts to these that matters and is remembered.
Our lives are testimony to this. What we learn from this is to maintain perspective. Not easy nor always successful, but essential to maintaining sanity. When this is attempted, it is surprising how the blessings of God become evident even in the worst of circumstances and humility becomes essential in each success. This is how we come to find reason to celebrate at a time when the world would have us mourn.
Yes, an American court, out of fear, condemned Aafia, but through that trial it also exposed the total lack of any evidence against Aafia and the naked cover up of all that was done to her. Yet, this very act of condemnation also raised her status in the entire Muslim world from a victim to a heroine. She went from being a name to a symbol, from a mother’s daughter to the daughter of a nation. Yet, we know labels are also transient. We remember when she was a pariah, the most dangerous woman in the world and to some she still is. But, then, as now, to us she remains a simple human being - a sister, a daughter, a mother.
So, whether people celebrate a national symbol, the rise of a heroine, the face of all missing persons or the memory of a terror victim, we hope they will also remember that underneath all that is a tortured human being named Aafia Siddiqui and it is for her living memory that we celebrate - in joy and not in sorrow.
