Female Ghost Detainee Dr Siddiqui convicted in US court although she was tortured & shady evidence

[annm4peace]

One of the most shameful stories and trials of a middle eastern woman charged with terrorism. She was held in a ghost prison and disappeared, and raped and torture at request of US. She has two us born children. At 2008 Vets for Peace march I wore her name and told her story when I spoke to the crowd from the stage.... The US tortured her to insanity. 2 of her very young children where never found.
I read about her two years ago on "Cageprisoners" and it is just a very heartbreaking and horrific story of a young mother.

Please write your congress members and ask for an investigation into her arrest and detainment, and the location of her two children, one of whom is an American citizen.
The news has suppressed this story and we need to let them know we know.





http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/4/ignoring_torture_claims_and_questionable_evidence

On Wednesday, a New York court convicted the American-educated Pakistani neuroscientist of attempted murder for shooting at US soldiers and FBI agents while detained in Afghanistan in 2008.

Back in 2003, Aafia Siddiqui was wanted by law enforcement and the FBI and suspected of links to al-Qaeda leadership. But the MIT-trained scientist had mysteriously disappeared along with her three children, two of whom are US citizens. She reappeared five years later in Afghanistan with her oldest son and was arrested on suspicion of carrying chemicals and notes referring to “mass-casualty attacks” in New York.

Aafia Siddiqui was not tried on terrorism charges or for her alleged ties to al-Qaeda. The case against her rested on events that took place the day after she was arrested in Afghanistan in July of 2008. The prosecution said she grabbed an unattended rifle and opened fire on a group of US soldiers and FBI agents who were questioning her. None of the Americans was injured, but Siddiqui was shot and wounded while in US custody.


... AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, human rights groups have long alleged that Siddiqui was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani authorities in 2003 and interrogated and tortured at the behest of the United States. In her testimony last week, Siddiqui claimed to have been held in a secret prison by the Americans.

... TINA FOSTER: Well, the family’s response obviously is one of great disappointment, but I can’t say a great deal of shock, because from the beginning of this trial, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was portrayed as a terrorist, and instead of assuming the presumption of innocence, which most criminal defendants get when they come into a courtroom, Dr. Aafia had already been painted very much as a dangerous woman before she was even brought into the courtroom. And so, I think we saw during the course of the trial that she suffered the prejudice that was—that had already been laid as a foundation.

And probably perhaps most importantly, why my organization became involved in this case is the two children, the two youngest children of Dr. Aafia, who were three months old and four years old when they were captured, are still missing. And the International Justice Network believes that those children were also taken into detention at the same time that Aafia was, and we’re still looking for those two children.



Aafia Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 2, 1972. She was one of three children of Mohammad Siddiqui, a doctor trained in England, and Ismet. She is a mother of three.

Aafia moved to Texas in 1990 to be near her brother, and after spending a year at the University of Houston, transferred to MIT. Aafia then married Mohammed Amjad Khan, a medical student, and subsequently entered Brandeis University as a graduate student in cognitive neuroscience.

Citing the difficulty of living as Muslims in the United States after 9/11, Aafia and her husband returned to Pakistan. They stayed in Pakistan for a short time, and then returned to the United States. They remained there until 2002, and then moved back to Pakistan.

Some problems developed in their marriage, and Aafia was eight months pregnant with their third child when she and Khan were estranged. She and the children stayed at her mother’s house, while Khan lived elsewhere in Karachi.

After giving birth to her son, Aafia stayed at her mother’s house for the rest of the year, returning to the US without her children around December 2002 to look for a job in the Baltimore area, where her sister had begun working at Sinai Hospital.

Soon after Pakistani authorities arrested Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Aafia and her children disappeared. A report in the Pakistani Urdu press said that Aafia and her children had been seen being picked up by Pakistani authorities and taken into custody.

According to Mrs. Siddiqui, Aafia left her mother’s house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal in a Metro-cab on March 30, to catch a flight for Rawalpindi, but never reached the airport. Inside sources claim that Aafia had been “picked-up” by intelligence agencies while on her way to the airport and initial reports suggest she was handed over to the FBI.

Aafia Siddiqui had been missing for more than a year when the FBI put her photographs on its website. The press was told that she was an Al Qaeda facilitator. After an FBI conference, a newspaper broke the story linking the woman involved in the 2001 diamond trade in Liberia to Aafia. The family’s attorney, Elaine Whitfield Sharp, says the allegation was a blessing in disguise because it places Siddiqui somewhere at a specific time. She says she can prove Siddiqui was in Boston that week.

She and her children have been missing since 2003. The FBI was given her name by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad under torture. At the time his family was also kidnapped, including his two young children. He knew that, and you can safely assume that they were used to coerce him.
*****************************************************************************************


from 2008
ISLAMABAD: Dr. Fauzia Siddiqui sister of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has refused to allow media to talk to Ahmad Siddiqui son of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui saying that he was yet in a state of shock.

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info on the trial
http://www.cageprisoners.com/index.php


info on Dr Siddiqui's story

http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=1367

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Petition to Free Dr Siddiqui

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?af258633

[EFerrari]

1. K&R

[thunder rising]

2. grabbed an unattended rifle ... just how many unattended rifles are laying around for prisoners to

grab. I guess it sounds better than she tried to run.

[EFerrari]

4. Or as someone else suggested, it was a mock execution gone wrong.

She was the only one who got shot and there is no forensic evidence that she ever touched a gun. :shrug:

This case has Cheney/Rumsfeld ALL over it. :grr:

[annm4peace]

3. STATEMENT BY FAMILY OF DR. AAFIA SIDDIQUI

STATEMENT BY FAMILY OF DR. AAFIA SIDDIQUI IN RESPONSE TO GUILTY VERDICT
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 14:41

February 3, 2010, New York, NY – The International Justice Network (IJNetwork) represents the family of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in the United States. Attorneys from IJNetwork have been monitoring her trial, which began on January 19, and ended with a guilty verdict today in U.S. Federal Court in the Southern District of New York.

"Today marks the close of another sad chapter in the life of our sister, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Today she was unjustly found guilty. Though she was not charged with any terrorism-related offense, Judge Berman permitted the prosecution's witnesses to characterize our sister as a terrorist -- which, based on copious evidence, she clearly is not. Today's verdict is one of many legal errors that allowed the prosecution to build a case against our sister based on hate, rather than fact. We believe that as a result, she was denied a fair trial, and today's verdict must be overturned on appeal."
February 3, 2010, New York, NY – The International Justice Network
(IJNetwork) represents the family of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in the United
States. Attorneys from IJNetwork have been monitoring her trial, which
began on January 19, and ended with a guilty verdict today in U.S.
Federal Court in the Southern District of New York.


"Today marks the close of another sad chapter in the life of our
sister, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Today she was unjustly found guilty.
Though she was not charged with any terrorism-related offense, Judge
Berman permitted the prosecution's witnesses to characterize our
sister as a terrorist -- which, based on copious evidence, she clearly
is not. Today's verdict is one of many legal errors that allowed the
prosecution to build a case against our sister based on hate, rather
than fact. We believe that as a result, she was denied a fair trial,
and today's verdict must be overturned on appeal."

[EFerrari]

5. WTF was this case doing in NYC?

What is THAT about?

[TheWraith]

6. I should note that almost everything in this article is hearsay.

There is no evidence whatsoever to prove that Siddiqui was in US custody at any point prior to being detained in Afghanistan in 2008.

[annm4peace]

7. I don't understand your comment

or the message.

I can't believe you would say an interview by journalist Amy Goodman is hearsay and no evidence.

[TheWraith]

12. Well, because it's hearsay and not evidence.

Goodman is basically just taking the claims made by the woman's family and defense attorneys and repeating them. There's no objective standard of proof to say that any of it is true: no photographs, no military inside sources, no witnesses, no physical evidence... In other words, there's nothing to prove that her lawyers couldn't have just made it up out of thin air.

[EFerrari]

8. Hence the term "ghost detainee". Remember how many times

our government has been busted for kidnapping people and HIDING them from ICRC.

[annm4peace]

9. wow.. someone un recommended.

It is hard enough to get this story out.

The news hardly ever covers the death, torture, abuse, or neglect of women during "war" or "occupation".

For years the US Government refused to acknowledge she was a detainee and the fact her two children are American even made it worse. Maybe if she had blond hair and blue eyes people would have cared.

[annm4peace]

10. Ambassador Hollbrooke said he is working her release.. but is that true?

http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=28065

2/02/2009



ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani has said Dr Aafia is daughter of Pakistan and her return to Pakistan is a very vital issue adding serous efforts are being made at every level in this connection.



Prime Minister said this while talking to Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui in connection with latter’s release and her return to home. Dr Fauzia Siddiqui called on the prime minister in Prime Minister House here Tuesday.



He told Pakistan embassy in US was playing vital role in this regard and all Pakistanis including Dr Aafia Siddiqui would be brought back to Pakistan. Dr Aafia Siddiqui case was subjudice in US and State department and justice department was fully aware of Pakistan stance. This issue would be soon addressed, he added. Foreign office and Pakistan ambassador in US were in contact with US authorities, he indicated. Dr Aafia Siddiqui and all Pakistanis in US jails would soon be got released, he assured.



Earlier Dr Fauzia Siddiqui told Online Dr Aafia was innocent and she was punished being Muslim and Pakistani. She was meted out inhuman treatment during her imprisonment. "My meeting with prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani remained productive. Prime Minister has assured me that foreign office and Pakistani ambassador in US were in constant contact with US authorities and soon positive result would come out", she added.



Well-placed sources told Online Dr Fauzia Siddiqui also met new US special envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke. She told him the way he had come to Pakistan for the protection of US interest, he should also keep in view Pakistan interests and focus on the basic issues for the sake of improvement of relations between the two countries. Early release of Pakistani prisoners in US prisons besides ensuring their return to Pakistan were most critical issues, she stressed.



She told that her sister Dr Aafia Siddiqui was kept in US prison despite being innocent. Every inhuman treatment was meted out to her. Her videos were developed in brutal way, she added. But she is still facing difficulties in seeking justice. New US administration and Richard Holbrooke should help in securing her release, she appealed.



Richard Holbrooke held out assurance to Dr Fauzia Siddiqui to provide full justice to her sister Dr Aafia Siddiqui, just investigation into her case and her early release.



SOURCE: Onlinenews.com.pk

[MNmom]

11. Thanks for posting.

What a nightmare for this woman and her family. This story should be in the mainstream news.

[annm4peace]

13. well I emailed both my Senators

sen Klobuchar
and sen Franken.

Lets see what happens.. will they help ?