Activists Demand Aafia Siddiqui's Repatriation to
Pakistan; International Signatories in Plea to US Attorney
General
17 August 2010By El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
As Pakistan celebrates Independence Day, over 150
signatories call for the urgent repatriation of Aafia
Siddiqui to Pakistan in an open letter to US Attorney
General Eric Holder, drafted by the Justice for Aafia
Coalition, as part of a coordinated transatlantic
campaign of petitions.
Amongst the signatories of the letter published today
are British parliamentarian Lord Nazir Ahmad, human
rights lawyers Sir Geoffrey Bindman and Gareth Peirce,
Imran Khan, former Chief Justices and the Grand Mufti
of Pakistan.
At the start of a weekend of action, a delegation
headed by the New York based International Action
Center and the Peace Thru Justice Foundation will
deliver a petition to the Pakistani Mission to the
United Nations (8 East 65th St) at 12 noon on August
14th to the office of Ambassador Abdullah Hussain
Haroon. In Pakistan, activists will simultaneously
hold a Free Aafia protest camp at the Quaid's
Mausoluem. This will be followed by a day of protest
in solidarity with Aafia Siddiqui outside the US
embassy, London, organised by JFAC on August 15th,
followed by a Lawyers' March in Pakistan before
presenting a resolution to Prime Minister's House on
Monday 16th August.
Fowzia Siddiqui, the sister of Aafia Siddiqui, stated:
"14th August 2010 marks the 8th year of independence
celebration after the abduction of Aafia and her
children and the continued captivity of Aafia and the
unknown fate of Suleiman. It also marks the 9th year
of torture, rendition and war-crimes committed in the
name of a so called "war on Terror". Just as Aafia has
been betrayed by those who were supposed to defend and
protect her interests, even close relations, so too
has this nation been betrayed by those who are
supposed to uphold its interests, even those entrusted
by sworn oaths. As the daughter is betrayed, so is the
nation. The Pakistani people know that Aafia's fate is
Pakistan's fate; if we fail her, we will fail
ourselves."
Maryam Hassan, founder of the Justice for Aafia
Coalition commented:
"As Dr Siddiqui enters her eighth Ramadan in solitary,
since her disappearance in 2003, we are united with
one voice, urging the governments of the U.S. and
Pakistan to take urgent action to ensure that she is
finally returned to her home country and to her
family. This Kafkaesque nightmare has persisted for
eight years too long."
Mauri' Saalakhan, Director of Operations for The Peace
Thru Justice Foundation, heading the NYC delegation,
said:
"Of all the cases I've dealt with, in the 25 years
that I've been a human rights advocate, the case of
this young Muslim woman has been the heaviest on my
heart. When I think of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (who
represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate for 40 years), I
think of a once powerful American politician who, in
the twilight of his otherwise impressive political
career, was convicted of (and lost his senate seat as
a result of) corruption; who later had his conviction
vacated by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder because
of prosecutorial misconduct. If Eric Holder can
nullify the conviction of a once powerful republican
politician, simply because of a tainted process, he
should also be able to intervene in the wrongful
prosecution of a Muslim woman who was clearly
victimized by a far greater example of a tainted and
fundamentally unjust process."
A copy of the open letter in support of Aafia Siddiqui
can be downloaded at:
http://www.justiceforaafia.org/
The International Action Center's petition can be
accessed at:
http://www.iacenter.org/SiddiquiPetition/
Details of the weekends' actions are listed here:
http://www.justiceforaafia.org/events/month.calendar/2010/../
_________________
Notes for editor:
1. The Justice for Aafia Coalition is an umbrella
body for a number of organizations, groups, and
activists created in February 2010 to campaign for the
release and return of Aafia Siddiqui and for the
opening of a full investigation into the circumstances
of her detention and the whereabouts of her children.
2. The International Action Center is committed to the
building broad-based grassroots coalitions to oppose
to U.S. wars abroad while fighting against racism and
economic exploitation of workers here at home.
The IAC has mobilized nationally against racist police
brutality, to end the death penalty, and defense of
political prisoners like Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard
Peltier and the Cuban Five.
3. Aafia Siddiqui's lawyers maintain that she was
abducted by the Pakistani and US agents along with her
three children in 2003 and rendered to Afghanistan
where she was detained by American forces for over
five years. Siddiqui claims she was abused, raped and
tortured throughout her detention. She was convicted
in February 2010 of allegedly firing on US soldiers
while in custody in what appears to have been a grave
miscarriage of justice. She is due to be sentenced on
September 23rd.
4. For full details of the case, please visit
www.justiceforaafia.org and www.freeaafia.org.
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan is a peace activist and
the Director of
Operations, The Peace Thru Justice Foundation
11006 Veirs Mill Rd, STE L-15, PMB 298 Silver Spring,
MD. 20902
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