2011 IJN Report

Download Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts OR view online

At the request of Dr. Siddiqui’s family, IJN has monitored legal developments and conducted extensive factual research to shed light on the true facts surrounding her mysterious disappearance in 2003, and the events which followed. For the past 14 months, IJN attorneys have attended all court proceedings related to the criminal charges brought against Dr. Siddiqui in the United States, reviewed court records and legal documents related to her case, and spoken with the criminal defense attorneys appointed to represent her at trial. IJN has also reviewed and analyzed thousands of pages of confidential documents, interviewed dozens of witnesses in several countries, and met with Pakistani government officials in both the United States and Pakistan regarding her case.

The above report summarizes some of IJN’s initial findings. Citations to documents and authorities relied upon have been purposely withheld where appropriate in order to protect the identity of witnesses and other confidential information.

Executive Summary

IJN’s report, Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts, reveals shocking new evidence that contradicts official statements from governments of both Pakistan and the United States that Dr. Siddiqui was not detained in their custody prior to her arrest in Ghazni, Afghanistan in July of 2008. IJN has obtained a secret audio recording of a senior Pakistani official who admits he was personally involved in the arrest of Dr. Siddiqui and her children in 2003. This account is corroborated by substantial documentary evidence and witness testimony, which all points to the same conclusion—that Dr. Siddiqui and her three children were initially arrested in March 2003 with the knowledge and cooperation of local authorities in Karachi, Pakistan, and subsequently interrogated by Pakistani military intelligence (ISI) as well as U.S. intelligence agencies, includ- ing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

For more than a year, IJN has urged the Government of Pakistan to demand the return of this “daughter of the nation” to her family in Pakistan. Now, more than ever, her fate rests in the Pakistani Government’s hands.

Regardless of whether any of the allegations against Dr. Siddiqui are true, or whether other grounds for her repatriation may exist, her return to Pakistan should be expedited by both gov- ernments on humanitarian grounds. Her mental and physical health has severely declined, and continues to deteriorate every day that she remains imprisoned. IJN urges both governments to take immediate action to bring Dr. Aafia Siddiqui home.

More broadly, there can be little doubt that Dr. Siddiqui’s repatriation to Pakistan from the United States would do a great deal to repair some of the damage done to the diplomatic relationship between the two nations. Until then, the International Justice Network will continue to expose the truth and seek justice for Dr. Siddiqui and the thousands of other prisoners who have been unjustly imprisoned as part of the U.S. government’s “global war on terror.”