| JANUARY 20, 2010 - STATEMENT FROM FAMILY OF AAFIA SIDDIQUI |
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January 20, 2010, New York, NY – The International Justice Network, the human rights organization representing detainees held without charge by the United States at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, issued the following statement today on behalf of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s family in the United States. IJN attorneys have been monitoring the trial of Dr. Siddiqui, which began this week in U.S. federal court in the Southern District of New York. Tina M. Foster, Executive Director of the International Justice Network and spokesperson for Muhammad Siddiqui, Aafia’s brother, stated on his behalf: Our sister, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, is on trial for allegedly grabbing a U.S. Warrant Officer's rifle and firing it at FBI agents and military personnel while she was detained for questioning in Afghanistan. The only individual injured in the alleged incident was Aafia, who was shot in the abdomen. Aafia is not on trial for terrorism, nor has she ever been charged with any crime relating to terrorism. In fact, the prosecution has admitted that there is no link between Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and the terrorist network al-Qaeda. In reality, Aafia is a victim of the United States’ illegal detention and torture program. Numerous accounts document that she was held in secret prisons for five years, where she witnessed and suffered torture at the hands of her captors. In this trial we have seen a clear pattern of inconsistencies in the prosecution's story. It simply does not add up. Witnesses, including high-ranking FBI and Army personnel have been unable to give a coherent and consistent account of the alleged incident. Under cross examination, FBI Agent John Jefferson admitted that he did not see Aafia ever touch a weapon. Moreover, the prosecution's story fails to address the larger questions in this case. Who kidnapped Aafia and her children? How was her mental health affected by watching her children be ripped away? Where are her children Mariam and Sulieman now? And what happened to Aafia in the five years leading up to the incident that left her shot, wounded, and on trial for her life in the United States? |