Justice to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui? Or is it Abu Garib Justice?
By Sher Ali • Feb 4th, 2010 • Category: Politics • 19 CommentsA US-educated Pakistani woman was found guilty on Wednesday of trying to kill American servicemen in Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui, 37, a neuroscientist trained at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found guilty on all charges by a jury in federal court. Aafia was convicted of charges that she tried to kill Americans while detained in Afghanistan in 2008. A family lawyer immediately announced an appeal, citing “prejudice and bias.”
Siddiqui was accused of grabbing a rifle at an Afghan police station, where she was being interrogated in July 2008 and trying to gun down a group of the US servicemen. Although she was not charged with terrorism, prosecutors described her as a would-be terrorist, who had also plotted to bomb New York. Her lawyers tried to prove she was insane, but a judge ruled her fit to stand trial.
Tina Monshipour, an attorney for Siddiqui’s family, said afterwards: “This verdict is being subject to an appeal.” “There were a lot of unfair decisions,” Monshipour said, adding “She was portrayed as a terrorist even if there were no terrorism charges in this trial. This is one of those cases in which we see prejudice and bias invade the courtroom.”
Siddiqui, wearing a white veil, repeatedly disrupted her trial with outbursts at the jury, witnesses and her own lawyers, including claims that she was a victim of Israel. After being found guilty, she responded in similar fashion, saying: “This is a verdict from Israel, not America. The anger should be directed where it belongs.”
Prosecutors claimed that Siddiqui was arrested by the Afghan police in the town of Ghazni with notes indicating plans to attack the Statue of Liberty and other New York landmarks. However, she was charged only with attempted murder.
Prosecutors said she picked up a rifle in the police station where she was being held and opened fire on US servicemen and FBI representatives. She missed and was herself shot by one of the US soldiers.
Defence lawyers argued that there was no physical evidence, such as finger prints or gunpowder traces, to show Siddiqui even grabbed the rifle, let alone opened fire. Human rights groups have long speculated that Siddiqui may have been secretly imprisoned and tortured at the US base in Bagram, Afghanistan, during the five years prior to the 2008 incident.
The US military has denied she was ever held at the base. Siddiqui was living in Pakistan when she vanished in March 2003.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday voiced dismay after a US court found a Pakistani woman guilty of trying to kill American troops in Afghanistan and vowed to press her case. “We are dismayed over the unexpected verdict of the jury in Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case,” Pakistan’s embassy in Washington said in a statement.
“The government of Pakistan made intense diplomatic and legal efforts on her behalf and will consult the family of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and the team of defence lawyers to determine the future course of action,” it said. “The government will do all that is needed to provide justice to her as a Pakistani citizen,” it added.
Source: The News
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Shame on our government and also to a certain extant on media for not voicing against the american crimes…
“Siddiqui, wearing a white veil, repeatedly disrupted her trial with outbursts at the jury, witnesses and her own lawyers, including claims that she was a victim of Israel. After being found guilty, she responded in similar fashion, saying: “This is a verdict from Israel, not America.”
Good job Afia, keep making it difficult for yourself. You don’t need Israel or America as enemies, you are your own worst enemy.
umair03 you really are a lowlife
may Allah protect muslims from evil ppl like you
“may Allah protect muslims from evil ppl like you”
Allah is doing to you what you deserve. Haven’t you noticed?
May GOD save our Nation. There were no proofs. The witnesses were all Americans, testifying in American Courts supportive of the biast against Pakistanis! Whats more, they did not even lie coherently, all of them gave different accounts of the incident that (according to their made-up attempted-murder story) took place a couple of years back. Scientifically, as stated above there was not even a single proof of her even holding the rifle. But we are all asleep, silently watching such injustice done to a Pakistani citizen. Shame on the Jury and those Americans who claim that their country is great. Why doesn’t the nation open its eyes itself and protest against this…..!!!
Do not expect any favor from our inept government; this government is run by an American stooge and his acolytes whose egocentric approach is steering our nation toward humiliation and destruction.
Whatever has happened and still happening to sister Aafia is heart wrenching experience, let’s all pray to ALLAH (S.W.T.) for HIS mercy upon her.
I have a message for “Umair03”, just shut-up and leave us alone because people like you are curse to our society.
“I have a message for “Umair03”, just shut-up and leave us alone because people like you are curse to our society.”
You yourself are enough curse for yourself. Just look around..you are blowing yourself up.
@Umair03
Gosh, I despise people like you, get lost.
Aamir, blow a bomb somewhere.
@Umair03……JFO
The face of Pakistani leadership may be entirely different now compared to a few years back but the Facebook fan club of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf with over 100,000 fans shows that the former president still rules the roost, at least in the cyberworld, beating President’s page Asif Ali Zardari’s page, which has over 86,000 fans.
However, no other leader is even close to Musharraf and Zardari on the most popular social networking website in the world, as two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif languishes in third place with merely 6,000 fans.
A large number of Pakistanis using the Internet and taking interest in political issues and the future of the country is being seen as a good omen. Although the majority of the people are still deprived of the luxury of using the Internet or even getting an education to participate in online political forums, blogs, groups, discussions and communities. The people believe that such interactive groups not only provide them an opportunity to share their views and get political knowledge but also provide the leadership of the country an opportunity to directly see what the people think about them and what their expectations from their leaders are.
Reasons: Musharraf’s Facebook group consists of members of all ages although majority of the fans comprise the youth. Expert bloggers believe that the key reasons for the former military dictator’s popularity on the web are his liberal thoughts and his stance on extremism.
A large number of fans of President Zardari’s page are also from the youth but they either discuss the ongoing problems in the country or make fun of the government. Only a few of them appreciate the leadership for its services.
Some of Musharraf’s fans also criticise his policies on his Facebook page while some pessimists are of the view that Musharraf, Zardari, the Sharif brothers and other famous politicians are all alike.
It was noticed from the comments on the page that some young fans of Musharraf were keen to see him back in power and had expressed this desire in different ways.
The page also features a brief note from Musharraf on how he felt about leading the country and some of his activities these days.
The message reads, “I’ve had the good fortune and privilege to lead my country and serve the people of Pakistan for almost nine years. Since my retirement as president of Pakistan in August 2008, I have been keeping myself busy with a series of lectures worldwide. I’ve found this to be a stimulating experience as I get an opportunity to share my thoughts with audiences of different nationalities and diverse backgrounds.”
Meanwhile, member of Nawaz Sharif’s group mainly discuss issues the country is facing, including the National Reconciliation Ordinance, from an opposition party’s perspective. It also provides personal information about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders and Nawaz’s contributions in the development of the political system of the country.
Source: http://www.daily.pk/
Once again we have seen the dark face of US Government & Agencies in today’s Court decision, there is no Justice no human rights respect in Court decision. But as expected US Court showed full support to US Army no matter its about truth or lie, fake or real, but taking the American soldier side by the US Court judges is truly shameful and inhuman act.
Question: Why did you handover Pakistanis to US for interrogation? In particular, why were Americans given access to an accomplished Pakistani citizen like Dr. Afia Siddiqui?
Answer: These are baseless allegations. Not a single Pakistani was handed over by me to the US or any foreign country. Those taken by US were captured in Afghanistan and not given to US. Our policy was clear:
1. Pakistanis will be tried in Pakistan.
2. Foreigners will be offered to their own countries first and in case of refusal (which was invariably the case), will be handed over to the US.
The facts about Dr Afia Siddiqui’s case are still unclear. I only heard her name through the media when the story of her arrest in Afghanistan became public.
Pervez Musharraf: Answering Your Top 3 Questions - II | Facebook
@ Umair03 :
Dont u knw wat aafia has gone thru ? her outbursts were expected ! Do u expect a human being to keep quiet even after having gone thru so much of torture ?????? Plus a woman who’s being punishd for something she hasnt done !!!!!!!!! U dont hav a heart…y r we turnin a deaf ears to the screams of our sister ?!!! there r more ppl like Umair03 in our country thats y we are called DEAD NATION !!!!
Dr. Afia’s mail box was misused (without her knowledge or permission - at least this is her version) by one Majid Khan (her friend) for programming terrorism in USA. Somehow, FBI got the lead and from that moment on Dr Afia was on the list of Most Wanted. It is our previous greedy government that kidnapped her (and her two children as well) and handed over to FBI men in Afghanistan. That much of the story looks true. What has been proscuted in the American Court is totally concocted story. No sane person would believe that such a physically weak lady would snatch the rifle from the (well trained and agile) FBI security man and fired two shots at point blank range without hurting any one. This is comedy of errors in judicial history.
However period however, one forgets that this case was filed in American court and Pakistani government has no jurisdiction whatsoever. The President of United States of America can pardon a capital sentence but would never ever interfere if the sentence is passed on Homeland Security issue. So, it is not fair to blame our government that she did nothing in this case.
Some facts about Afia, for all you Afai fans;
1. She was married to a person who bought night-vision goggles and body armour worth $10,000 allegedly for “big game hunting” in Pakistan. He himself subsequently narrates Aafia’s violent personality, extremist views and concerns over her involvement in Jihadi activities.
2. Her second marriage a mere 6 months after her divorce, was to Ammar al-Baluchi, also known as Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali who happens to be the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (the 9/11 Conspirator) and a cousin of Ramzi Yousef who was convicted of the 1993 WTC Bombing. Al-Baluchi will be put on trail in New York for his involvement in mass terrorism.
3. During her stay in the US, the charities she was involved with were subsequently linked to the 1998 US Embassy bombings such as the Mercy International Relief Agency. She herself ran an Islamic Charity called Islamic Research and Teaching from her flat. These activities gained her access to criminals in local prisons.
4. During the jury selection process Dr Siddiqui insisted on having all the jury members “DNA tested” to ensure that there were no Jews on the jury bench. Her similar statements in court are equally anti-Semitic.
Link: pickledpolitics.com/archives/7458
Her uncle is the 9′/11 mastermind, his husband is set to go to trial for mass terrorism but no she is innocent as an angel. Hmmm…may be on mars.
“@ Umair03 :
Dont u knw wat aafia has gone thru ?”
If you associate with serious terrorists, you ask for it. In case you were not aware.
shame on r govt. n us who aftr seing deir atitude dnt gt a lssn .itz da tme unite n fight……
@UMAIR03:
R U A HUMAN BEING??????????????DO U HAV HEART??????????
HW COULD U PASS SUCH COMMENTS ON AAFIA……
PLZ KNW HER STORY PROPERLY.SHAME ON U