ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی مارچ ٢، انیس
سو بہتر کو کراچی میں پیدا ہوئیں۔ اور اٹھارہ سال کی عمر میں انیس سو نوے
کو امریکی ریاست ٹیکساس منتقل ہوگیں۔ بعد ازاں ہوسٹن یونیورسٹی سے کچھ عرصے
تعلیم حاصل کرنے کے بعد ١٩٩٢ کو ایم آئی ٹی منتقل ہوگئیں۔ دوران تعلیم
ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی نے کیرول ایل ولسن ایوارڈ حاصل کیا اپنی ریسرچ بنام
“اسلامائزیشن ان پاکستان اینڈ اٹس افیکٹس آن وومین“۔
اپنے سابقہ شوہر کے پیشے یعنی نیورو سائنس میں گریجویشن کرنے کے لیے عافیہ
صدیقی نے برینڈیز یونیورسٹی میں داخلہ لیا۔ اور وہاں ٢٠٠١ میں ایک پی ایچ
ڈی بعنوان “سیپریٹنگ دی کومپونینٹس آف لمیٹیشن "Separating the Components
of Imitation “ حاصل کی۔
ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی کی بہن ڈاکٹر فوزیہ صدیقی نے ہاورڈ سے تعلیم حاصل کی تھی
ڈاکٹر عافیہ نے نہیں اور دوسری بات ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی پاکستانی
اینیستھیولوجسٹ نہیں بلکہ امریکی پی ایچ ڈی کی حامل امریکی بیسڈ
اینیسٹھیولوجسٹ تھیں۔
ایک جونئیر کی حیثیت سے عافیہ نے ١٢٠٠ امریکی ڈالرز کی فیلوشپ وصول کی ایم
آئی ٹی لنکس پروگرام کے زریعے تاکہ کیمبرج ایلیمینٹری سکول کے کھیل کے
میدان کو صاف کیا جاسکے۔ اپنی انڈر گریجوٹ تعلیم کے دوران عافیہ میک کارمک
ھال میں رہائش رکھتیں اور ایم آئی ٹی کی لائبرییز میں کام کرتیں۔ عافیہ
صدیقی نے ایم آئی ٹی سے ١٩٩٥ میں گریجوشن کیا۔
اپنی گریجوشن کے ٹھیک ایک سال بعد ١٩٩٦ میں عافیہ نے “فائل ٹرانسفر
پروٹوکول اور امرجنگ ورلڈ وائڈ ویب “ نامی آرٹیکل لکھا ایم آئی ٹی کے
انفارمیشن سسٹم کے نیوزلیٹر میں۔
١٩٩٥ میں عافیہ صدیقی نے انیستھیولوجسٹ محمد امجد خان سے شادی کی اور
اکتوبر ٢٠٠٢ کو دونوں کے درمیان طلاق واقع ہوگئی۔ دونوں کی ٣ اولادیں ہیں
احمد (١٩٩٦)، مریم (١٩٩٨) اور سلیمان (٢٠٠٢)۔
اپنی طلاق کے چھ ماہ بعد عافیہ صدیقی نے عمار ال بالوچی سے شادی کی جو
بھتیجا تھا نائن الیون کے ماسٹر مائند خالد شیخ محمد کا، یہ شادی کراچی کے
قریب ہوئی تھی جبکہ عافیہ کے فیملی ممبر اس شادی کے وقوع ہونے ہی سے انکاری
ہیں مگر پاکستانی اور امریکی انٹیلی جنس، عمار کے رشتے داروں، ایف بی آئی
کی انٹرویو رپورٹ جو عدالت میں جمع ہوئیں اور خود عافیہ صدیقی کے مطابق یہ
شادی عمل میں آئی تھی۔
افغانی صدر کی زاتی کوشش سے عافیہ صدیقی کے بیٹے احمد صدیقی کو افغان قید
سے نجات ملی اور افغانی صدر اور ایجنسیوں اور حکومت نے کبھی یہ نہیں کہا کہ
ان کے ملک افغانستان کو بدنام کیا جارہا ہے کہ وہ افغانستان کے شہر غزنی سے
گرفتار ہوئی تھی۔
یعنی افغانستان اس بات تردید نہیں کرتا کہ عافیہ صدیقی افغانستان سے گرفتار
ہوئیں تھیں۔ اور پاکستان اس بات کی حامی نہیں بھرتا کہ عافیہ صدیقی پاکستان
سے گرفتار ہوئیں تھیں۔
تو نتیجہ کیا نکلتا ہے کہا جاتا ہے کہ عافیہ صدیقی کراچی سے ائیرپورٹ جانے
کے لیے روانہ ہوئیں اور وہیں سے غائب کردی گئیں تو کس نے گرفتار کیا کیسے
گرفتار کیا اور کب اور کس کے سامنے گرفتار کیا یہ تمام باتیں کوئی نہیں
جانتا اور جہاں تک افغانستان سے گرفتاری کی بات ہے تو وہ افغانستان بھی
مانتا ہے اور ایف بی آئی بھی عدالت میں یہی جمع کرارہی ہے کیا وجہ نظر آتی
ہے کہ امریکہ عافیہ صدیقی کی گرفتار پاکستان کے بجائے افغانستان سے ثابت
کرتا ہے کیا وہ پاکستان سے ڈرتا ہے ۔
عافیہ صدیقی کی گرفتاری کے بعد کچھ زیادہ معلومات نہیں تھیں عافیہ کے دہشت
گردی اور القائدہ سے متعلق نظریات کی۔ عافیہ کے سابقہ شوہر نے بالاخر اپنی
خاموشی توڑی ١٨ فروری ٢٠٠٩ کو (ایک آمر کے کہنے یا اسکے دور میں نہیں بلکہ
اس جمہوریت کی فضا میں ) اور ایک خصوصی انٹرویو میں کہا “ میں عافیہ کی
جنگجوانہ شخصیت کے متعلق جان گیا اور اس کے شدت پسندانہ نظریات اور اسکی
شبے سے بھری انوالمنٹ جہادیی عناصر کے ساتھ۔ میرے خدشات بالاخر صحیح ثابت
ہوئے جب عزیر پراچہ کے امریکہ میں ٢٠٠٤ میں ہونے والے ٹرائل کے درمیان، جو
عافیہ کا اصل اور خصوصی دورہ ہوا امریکہ کا جو بالاخر منظر عام پر آگیا۔
عافیہ نے مجھ سے طلاق کا مطالبہ کر دیا جب میں نے افغانستان میں منتقل ہونے
سے انکار کر دیا عافیہ کے ساتھ جہاد کی غرض سے۔ عافیہ کے سابقہ شوہر کے
زاتی انٹرویو سے یہ بھی ظاہر ہوا کہ عافیہ صدیقی اپنے سابقہ شوہر کو جسمانی
ازیت بھی دیتی تھیں (یہ بات بہت سوں کے حلق سے اترنی مشکل ہوگی ؟ )
اپنی روپوشی کے وقت کہا جاتا ہے کہ عافیہ صدیقی آغا خان یونیورسٹی میں کام
کرتی تھیں۔ عافیہ صدیقی نے اپنی خواہش کا اظہار کیا اپنے ایک پروفیسر رابرٹ
سیکلر کو جو برانڈیز یونیورسٹی میں پروفیسر تھے کہ وہ (عافیہ صدیقی) امریکہ
میں کام کرنا چاہتی ہیں اور اس میں عافیہ صدیقی نے درج کیا کہ “یہاں بہت کم
سہولتیں اور مواقع ہیں میری جیسی تعلیمی اعلیٰ تعلیم یافتہ خواتین کے کام
کرنے کی “۔ اس کے کچھ عرصے بعد ہی وہ غائب ہوگئیں۔۔
١٩٩٠ کو جب عافیہ صدیقی اور ان کے سابقہ شوہر بوسٹن میں رہتے تھے وہاں
انہوں نے اسلامی ریسرچ اور تعلیمات کے ایک ادارے کی بنیاد رکھی۔ عافیہ نے
ایک مسجد کا بھی دورہ کیا جہاں انہوں نے اسلامی لٹریچر تقسیم کیا۔
مارچ ٢٠٠٣ کو ڈاکٹر عافیہ نے امریکہ سے روانگی اختیار کی۔ اسی سال عافیہ کو
امریکہ کی طرف سے الزامات لگے کہ ان کے تعلقات القاعدہ سے ہیں۔ ٢٠٠٨ کو ان
پر چارج لگے امریکی ڈسٹرکٹ کورٹ میں کے انہوں نے حملے کیے اور امریکی
میرینز کو ہلاک کرنے کی کوشش کی جب وہ افغانستان میں زیر تفتیش یا زیر
حراست تھیں۔
اپریل ٢٠٠١ تک عافیہ صدیقی ایک ھائی رائز اپارٹمنٹ میں رہائش کیے رہیں جس
میں اکثر سعودی باشندوں خصوصآ ال دھاھری کا آنا جانا لگا رہتا تھا مگر یہ
بات غیر یقینی ہے کہ وہ تمام اس اپارٹمنٹ کو شیئر کرتے تھے ایک ہی وقت میں۔
اپریل ٢٠٠٣ کو پریس ٹرسٹ انڈیا رپورٹ کرتا ہے کہ عافیہ صدیقی کراچی سے اپنے
رشتے داروں کے گھر سے گرفتار ہوئیں جہاں وہ غیر ملکی دورے سے واپس آئیں تھی
۔
انگریزی میں بھی ویکیپیڈیا سے لی گئی انفورمیشن درج زیل ہے
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Biography
Aafia Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan. She moved to Texas in
1990,[2] and after attending the University of Houston[3] for her
freshman year, transferred to MIT. In 1992, as a sophomore at MIT,
Siddiqui received a Carroll L. Wilson Award for her research proposal "Islamization
in Pakistan and its Effects on Women"[4]. As a junior, Siddiqui received
a $1,200 fellowship through MIT's LINKS program to help clean up
Cambridge elementary school playgrounds. During her undergraduate
career, she lived in McCormick Hall and worked at the MIT libraries. She
graduated from MIT in 1995.
In 1996, a year after she graduated, Siddiqui wrote an article for the
MIT Information Systems newsletter about the File Transfer Protocol and
the then-emerging World Wide Web.
Siddiqui was married to anesthesiologist Muhammad Amjad Khan, until
their divorce in October 2002.[5] They have 3 children: Ahmed (b. 1996),
Maryam (b. 1998), and Suleman (b. 2002). At the time of her
disappearence, she was working at the Aga Khan University in Karachi.
She had, however, expressed interest in working in the United States in
an email addressed to her professor, Robert Sekuler, at Brandeis
University, citing lack of options in Karachi for women of her academic
background. A few days later, she disappeared. [6]. Siddiqui is reported
by the US government to be now married to Ammar al-Baluchi.[7]
In 1999, while living in Boston, Siddiqui and Khan founded the nonprofit
Institute of Islamic Research and Teaching.[7] She attended a mosque
outside of the city, where she stored Islamic literature which she
distributed.[8] She went on to graduate study in Neuroscience at
Brandeis University, receiving a Ph.D. degree in 2001 for her
dissertation, entitled "Separating the Components of Imitation".
2001 money trail
Siddiqui was an account holder at Fleet National Bank in Boston.
According to documents obtained by Newsweek, in 2001, Siddiqui was
making regular debit-card payments to an Islamic charity front,
Benevolence International, which is now banned by the UN. In addition,
Siddiqui was found to be active with the Al Kifah Refugee Center,
another Islamic charity that was ostensibly raising funds for Bosnian
orphans but which also was under federal investigation. Fleet Bank
security officers began tracking a money trail from the Saudi Embassy
that led to Siddiqui, resulting in more "links" that "shocked" the bank
security officers, according to an investigative report in Newsweek that
incorrectly identifies Siddiqui as a microbiologist.[9]
The Boston Herald reported March 23, 2003 that until August 2001,
Siddiqui lived in a Mission Hill neighborhood high-rise apartment
building in Boston that was frequented by Saudi nationals. Siddiqui's
specific address in the building was identified as apartment number
2008. Another Fleet Bank customer, Hatem Al Dhahri, also listed his
address as number 2008 in that same building. Al Dhahri and Siddiqui's
accounts were both active and current in the fall of 2001, but it is
unknown whether they shared the apartment at the same time. A Saudi
Embassy spokesman said that Al Dhahri has been interrogated by the FBI
and has denied any knowledge of Siddiqui.
Subsequent to the Fleet National Bank investigation, Aafia Siddiqui's
husband was found to be purchasing high-tech military equipment.
According to Newsweek, FBI documents also stated that Khan, Siddiqui’s
husband, had purchased body armor, night-vision goggles and a variety of
military manuals that were supposed to be sent to Pakistan. Fleet
National Bank accounts associated with the couple also showed "major
purchases" from U.S. airlines and hotels in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and
North Carolina as well as an $8,000 international wire transfer on
December 21, 2001, to Habib Bank, the largest bank in Pakistan.
Newsweek reported that Fleet National Bank investigators discovered that
one account used by the Boston-area couple showed repeated debit-card
purchases from stores that "specialize in high-tech military equipment
and apparel", including Black Hawk Industries in Chesapeake, Virginia,
and Brigade Quartermasters in Georgia. (Black Hawk's website advertises
grips, mounts and parts for AK-47s and other military-assault rifles as
well as highly specialized combat clothing, including vests designed for
bomb disposal).
Allegations from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence asserts that their
office has associated Siddiqui with Guantanamo captive Ammar al-Baluchi
[10]
In 2002, 'Ammar directed Aafia Siddiqui--a US-educated neuroscientist
and al-Qa'ida facilitator--to travel to the United States to prepare
paperwork to ease Majid Khan's deployment to the United States. 'Ammar
married Siddiqui shortly before his detention.
Al-Baluchi is now held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay
detention camps, in Cuba.
Personal Views
Since her arrest, there wasn't much information available about her
personal views on Terrorism and Al Qaeda. Her ex husband finally broke
his silence about his ex wife on February 18, 2009 in an exclusive
interview. “I was aware of Aafia’s violent personality and extremist
views and suspected her involvement in Jihadi activities. My fear later
proved to be true when during Uzair Paracha’s trial in the US in 2004,
the real purpose of Aafia’s trip to the US (between December 23, 2002
and January 3, 2003) was revealed.”[3].
She asked for divorce when he refused to move to Afghanistan with her
for Jihad[4]. It was also revealed in the interview that she used to
physically abuse him.
Disappearance and alleged arrest
On March 1, 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, one of the original 22 FBI
Most Wanted Terrorists, was captured in Pakistan. Siddiqui may have
drawn the FBI's attention when she was named by the captured senior al-Qaida
operative, as CNN reported on April 3, 2003.[11] According to Newsweek,
FBI Agents also found evidence that she had rented a post-office box to
help another Baltimore, Maryland-based individual alleged to have been
an al-Qaeda contact who had been assigned by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to
blow up underground gasoline-storage tanks.
At that time, the Boston Herald also reported her being linked to the
American resident Adnan El Shukrijumah, "whose name surfaced among the
belongings of" Mohammed. She attracted international attention at that
time as the first woman to be sought by the FBI in connection with its
pursuit of al-Qaeda.[citation needed]
On March 29, 2003 United Press International reported that the FBI
purportedly believed Siddiqui may be a "fixer" for al-Qaeda, moving
money to support terrorist operations.
In April 2003, the Press Trust of India reported that she had been
arrested at a relative's home in Karachi after returning to Qaid-e-Azam
International Airport from an overseas trip, and was being questioned by
the FBI. U.S. intelligence sources confirmed that Siddiqui was
"essentially in the hands of the FBI now".[8]
When her uncle began speaking about her alleged arrest, the FBI denied
having any knowledge of her detention or whereabouts; and held to that
statement for the next four years.[12] On 28 February 2007 Human Rights
Watch said that Siddiqui "may have once been held" in a CIA black
site.[13]
The family of Aafia Siddqiui asked attorney Elaine Whitfield Sharp of
Marblehead, Massachusetts, to serve as their spokeswoman in the media.
She had filed cases in US courts since her disappearance in 2003.
[Summer 2004 terror alert
Leading up to the summer of 2004, several scheduled high-profile
national events had become widely predicted as likely targets for a
potential major upcoming terror attack. One of the first among them was
the 2004 Democratic National Convention, scheduled for Boston, July 26
through July 29, 2004.[14] Aafia Siddiqui had lengthy ties to the Boston
area, and that connection may have been what brought her to the
forefront of the FBI's attention a year after her disappearance from the
area.
On May 26, 2004, United States Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI
Director Robert Mueller announced that reports indicated that al-Qaeda
planned to attempt an attack on the United States that summer or fall.
In addition, Director Mueller named Aafia Siddiqui as "an al-Qaeda
operative and facilitator", and as one of seven al-Qaeda associates who
were being sought in connection with the possible terrorist threats in
the United States, though they did not have any reason at that time to
believe that the seven were working in concert. Ashcroft went on to say
of the seven that they all posed "a clear and present danger to America,
and should all be considered armed and dangerous." The other alleged
terrorists named on that date were Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Fazul
Abdullah Mohammed, Amer El-Maati, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, Abderraouf Jdey,
and Adnan G. El Shukrijumah. The first two had been listed as FBI Most
Wanted Terrorists since 2001, indicted for their roles in the 1998 U.S.
embassy bombings. Jdey was already on the FBI's "Seeking Information"
wanted list since January 17, 2002, to which Siddiqui and the other
three were added as well.[15]
Despite the more serious allegations made by the Director on May 26,
2004 about Aafia Siddiqui, her FBI Seeking Information Alert continues
to state only, "Although the FBI has no information indicating this
individual is connected to specific terrorist activities, the FBI would
like to locate and question this individual." In contrast, the other
four alleged al-Qaeda associates who had been named along with Siddiqui
by the FBI Director on that day are all, "being sought in connection
with possible terrorist threats against the United States", according to
the specific text in their Seeking Information Alerts.
In the press conference, the Director further emphasized that "Each of
these seven individuals is known to have a desire and the ability to
undertake planning, facilitation and attack against the United States
whether it be within the United States itself or overseas." However, no
Justice Department explanation has been given for why Siddiqui remains
listed as "wanted for questioning" — not for terrorist activities --
(That terrorist action never occurred; Nor was a credible threat of such
ever made public.) The announcement sparked fear that the face of
terrorism was changing, i.e., that women and children were traveling
incognito to accomplish terrorist goals.
Allegations of handling conflict diamonds for al-Qaeda
Following the capture of A. K. Ghailani on 25 July 2004, several press
reports described the participation of Siddiqui, in the acquisition and
movement of diamonds in Liberia The Boston Globe reported that Siddiqui
had stayed in Monrovia for one week at the invitation of Charles Taylor,
to compile a report for her superiors in Pakistan.[16][17] [18]
"The Gray lady of Bagram"
On July 7, 2008 the Daily Times of Pakistan quoted British journalist
Yvonne Ridley that a Pakistani woman had been held in solitary
confinement, for years, in the Bagram Theater internment facility
[19][20]. Her identity remains unconfirmed. She has been nicknamed the
"gray lady of Bagram". However Ridley speculates that she is Aafia
Siddiqui.
Moazzam Begg and several other former captives have reported that a
female prisoner, prisoner 650, was held in Bagram.[20] According to The
Daily Times and Adnkronos news service the former captives report she
has lost her sanity, and cries all the time. Ridley wrote about Bagram's
"Prisoner 650" and her ordeal of torture and repeatedly being raped for
over four years. "The cries of (this) helpless woman echoed (with such
torment) in the jail that (it) prompted prisoners to go on hunger
strike." Ridley called her a "gray lady (because) she (was) almost a
ghost, a spectre whose cries and screams continue to haunt those who
heard her. This would never happen to a Western woman."
Iqbal Jaafree, a Pakistani lawyer, petitioned a Pakistani court for a
hearing to determine Siddiqui's location.[21][22]
According to a May 2009 report filed by Leslie Powers, a Psychologist
who has examined Aafia, she believes that Aafia was living at large in
Pakistan and Afghanistan for portions of the five year period human
rights critics believe she was in clandestine US custody.[23] According
to Powers:
The FBI claims Aafia said she worked at the Karachi Institute of
Technology in 2005; Her husband has claimed he saw Aafia and her
children on several occasions during the 2003-2008 period; Aafia
described looking for her husband in Afghanistan in the winter of
2007.Powers wrote: "While her accounts of her time are incomplete, her
statements and other facts gathered seem to corroborate that she was not
held captive from 2003 until 2008"[23]
American account of Second capture
On 4 August 2008, shorty after press rumors suggested that Siddiqui had
been in Bagram for the last five years, the US government announced that
Aafia Siddiqui was arrested on charges related to her attempted murder
and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan.[5]
mirror
The US claims that Siddiqui was not captured in March 2003, that she was
arrested on July 17, 2008 outside the home of the Governor of Ghazni.[24][25]
The US account of the July 18, 2008 shooting is that FBI agents,
interpreters, and several GIs entered arrived at the Afghan facility
where Siddiqui was being held. The personnel entered a second floor
meeting room—unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured,
behind a curtain.
The Warrant Officer took a seat and placed his United States Army M-4
rifle on the floor next to the curtain .[26] According to the US account
the GIs set down their weapons, whereupon Siddiqui burst from behind a
curtain, grabbed an M-4, and opened fire. One interpreter who was
accompanying the officers seized the firearm from her.
US officials claim they have no idea where Siddiqui has been in the five
years since she was captured on March 17, 2003.
Siddiqui arrived in New York on August 4, 2008, and was presented before
a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for
the Southern District of New York. Siddiqui refused to accept the
charges.[27][28][29] Siddiqui's lawyer stated that no one can believe
the FBI story and that Siddiqui had actually been captured in Karachi,
Pakistan along with three of her children.
Huma Yusuf, writing in Pakistan's International News, argued that
Siddiqui's reappearance highlights the importance for the restoration of
the Judges President Musharref had controversially fired in 2007.[30]
Prior to their dismissal and house arrest the Supreme Court of Pakistan
was conducting inquiries into the extrajudicial detention and
disappearance of over 500 Pakistanis, including Siddiqui.
On August 8, 2008 the Daily Times reported that Aafia was captured in
Ghazni with her eldest son, Muhammad Ahmed.[31] The report stated that
documents existed that confirmed that Affia and her children had been
captured in March 2003.
Sources close to the matter claimed the Interior Ministry asked the
provincial home departments for detailed reports on missing persons a
couple of weeks ago, and that the list prepared by the Sindh Home
Department included Dr Siddiqui and her three children, Maryam, Ahmed
and Suleman. The report confirmed MI detained Dr Siddiqui and her three
children in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on March 30, 2003, later handing her over to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Afghan account of the second capture
Reuters reports that Afghan officials offered an account at odds with
the American account.[32][33] According to Reuters Afghan police
apprehended Siddiqui and a teenage boy in Ghazni because they triggered
suspicions near the Governor's mansion. Reuters reported that the next
day local police officials had a dispute with an American official over
her custody. U.S soldiers then proceeded to disarm the Afghan police, at
which time Aafia who was not armed and not resisting, was shot by a GI:
"U.S. soldiers then proceeded to disarm the Afghan police at which point
Siddiqui approached the Americans complaining of mistreatment by the
police. The U.S. troops, the officer said, 'thinking that she had
explosives and would attack them as a suicide bomber, shot her and took
her.'"
Rape allegations
Reuters reports that Siddiqui's family believes she was raped, in
addition to being tortured, while in Bagram. They did not explain how
they knew of this, but say they have remained silent because of 'severe
threats' to the family and belief in her innocence.[32]
Location of Siddiqui's children
After Siddiqui re-emerged the current location of her three children,
who were with her where she was believed to have first been apprehended
in 2003, was the subject of speculation.[34][35] Because her children
were born while she was a US resident they are American citizens.[36]
On August 9, 2008 her sister Fauzia Siddiqui said that the family had
been receiving assurances from the Pakistani Government authorities that
she and her children were healthy during the five years her location was
unknown.[37]
“The government had been in contact with us during the last five years
and has been saying that Dr Aafia would be back in a few days. Now we
have been told that all the three children were fine but looking at
Aafia’s condition we fear that the children might be in danger.”
On September 15, 2008 Dr Siddiqui's son Ali Hassan (his real name is
Muhhamad Ahmad) was transferred to Pakistani custody.[38] According to
the Globe and Mail, during a handover ceremony, an Afghan official
stated:
“Under the presidential order of Hamid Karzai, we hand over Ali Hassan
(Muhammad Ahmad), 12, to Pakistan authorities. We hope this step should
symbolize friendly ties with our neighbouring nation Pakistan.”
The Afghan authorities claim that Ali Hassan had been arrested in
Afghanistan together with his mother.
Medical condition
The News of Pakistan reports that Siddiqui's health is very frail, over
and above her recent gun-shot wound.[36] The report quoted concerns of
the Co-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Iqbal
Haider, who felt the images of Siddiqui showing that her health had been
so badly damaged her life was in imminent risk. The report stated that
the following, though Aafia's lawyer has not communicated a
confirmation, other than the note linked[39]:
one of her kidneys had been removed while in captivity;
her teeth had been removed;
her nose had been broken, and improperly reset;
that her recent gun-shot wound had been incompetently dressed, was
oozing blood, leaving her clothes soaked with blood.
An August 11, 2008 Reuters report stated that she had appeared at her
hearing in a wheelchair, and that her lawyers pleaded with the judge to
make sure she received medical care.[40] Reuters reports that Elizabeth
Fink, one of her lawyers, told the Judge:
"She has been here, judge, for one week and she has not seen a doctor,
even though they (U.S. authorities) know she has been shot."
The Reuters report stated that Siddiqui believed she had lost part of
her intestines.[40] Her lawyers told the judge they believed she was
still suffering from internal bleeding. According to Reuters:
Lawyers for Siddiqui said last week she appeared confused and did not
know where she had been, except to claim that she was held captive by
unknown authorities in a small room.
Christopher LaVigne, one of the Prosecutors, justified withholding
medical care because she was a "high-security risk".[40] The Prosecution
was ordered to make sure she was seen by a doctor within 24 hours by
Judge Robert Pitman.
Consular access
Aafia received consular access on August 9, 2008.[18][41][42] She is
reported to have declined to have said where she had been in the five
years since she disappeared in March 2003.
On July 21, 2009 Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United
States, spoke with Aafia by telephone, to assure her that the Pakistani
government was making efforts on her behalf.[43]
Bounty
Reports emerged that Iqbal Jafferi filed a petition before the Islamabad
High Court, which asserted that Siddiqui had ended up in US custody
through a US bounty payment to Bilal Musharraf, the son of President
Musharraf.[37]
Refusal to appear in court in protest
Dr Aafia Siddiqui refused to appear in a New York court on Thursday,
September 4, 2008, in protest against the humiliating treatment to which
she is being subjected and because of her traumatised physical, mental
and emotional condition. Her lawyer, Fink, gave the court a chilling
description of the strip searches that Siddiqui is being made to endure
every time she is visited, even by her lawyer. She refused to appear in
court because she did not want to be subjected to the torture and
humiliation of another strip search. Siddiqui's 10-year old son Muhammad
Ahmed was handed over by Afghan authorities in Kabul in September 2008
to Pakistani officials in Islamabad at the Benazir Bhutto International
Airport.
Psychiatric evaluation
On November 18, 2008, the BBC reported that Siddiqui was unfit to stand
trial after a psychiatric examination was conducted at a medical centre
in Fort Worth, Texas. The evaluation said she is "not currently
competent to proceed as a result of her mental disease". US District
Judge Richard M Berman announced a conference of lawyers for November
19, which may consider the possibility of medication for Ms Siddiqui's
"depression".[44] According to International Herald Tribune, a prison
psychologist had previously declared that Siddiqui suffers from severe
depression, and her lawyer said "she's psychotic."[45]
On March 26, US prosecutors submitted documents to the trial court
stating that two independent, government psychiatrists had determined
that Siddiqui was "malingering" or faking her symptoms of mental
illness. The judge, Richard M. Berman, scheduled a hearing for June 1 to
determine Siddiqui's competency and set a tentative trial date for July
6.[46]
Mental Health experts offered their opinions of her competency at a
pre-trial hearing in early July 2009.[23][47]
L. Thomas Kucharski, chairman of the Department of Psychology at John
Jay College of Criminal Justice, who concluded Aafia has a delusional
disorder, which included: "...the belief that the court is part of a
conspiracy to have her killed, tortured and/or have her witness the
torture of her children."[23] He had been called to testify by her
defense attorneys.
The Prosecution called three mental health professionals[23]: Leslie
Powers, a forensic psychologist; a Professor at the University of
Virginia School of Medicine, psychiatrist Gregory B. Saathoff; a
Professor at the University of North Carolina, Sally C. Johnson, another
psychiatrist. Powers testified she did not believe that Aafia had been
in US custody prior to her capture in Afghanistan in July 2008. Powers
based her conclusion, in part, on accounts of what FBI agents who
accompanied Aafia said she said on the long flight from Pakistan to the
USA. Saathoff testified that since delusions Aafia described seemed to
disappear, after she was initially ruled unfit for trial, he believed
the delusions were not genuine, but attempts at malingering. He
testified: “She has most likely fabricated reported psychiatric
symptoms.”[48] Johnson believed that the mental health issues Aafia had
originally presented with, when captured in July 2008, had all been
successfully treated.
Bruce Golding, writing for the New York Post, reported that Aafia's
outbursts interrupted the court over a dozen times, but that Berman
simply ignored her, and encouraged witnesses to talk over top of
her.[47] According to Golding her outbursts included:
"I'd like to urge you all to take me seriously. I'm not psychotic."
"I can bring peace. I can absolutely guarantee it."
On July 29, 2009 Berman ruled that Aafia was competent to stand
trial.[49] Berman wrote Aafia had:
"...sufficient present ability to consult with her lawyers with a
reasonable degree of rational understanding and she also has a rational
as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings against her."
"This is an instance where a defendant may have some mental health
issues but may nevertheless be competent to stand trial."
According to the Associated Press one of the three mental health experts
who had initially offered the opinion she was not competent to stand
trial, was later to reverse herself.[49] Aafia's appearance in the court
included several emotional outbursts.
Bollywood references
In his commentary on the Bollywood film New York, Aijaz Zaka Syed,
writing in the Khaleej Times, cited Aafia Siddiqui as an example of
those swept up without reasonable access to judicial protections.[50]
The film focusses around South Asians, living in New York City,
post-911, who were forced to falsely denounce one another by US security
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