Wednesday the 10th of December...Yesterday, was World ‘Human Rights Day- A day to remember those deprived of their civil liberties and freedom. A day to provide a voice for the voiceless. A day to stand up for the oppressed. A group of around 50 activists....mostly women, braved the blustery gales, rain and icy sleet to hold a peaceful vigil (accompanied by a police presence) for #DrAafiaSiddiqui outside the Pakistani Consulate in Manchester. For a cause known all over the Muslim world, at first glance at the group- one couldn’t help but be disappointed that more people couldn’t sacrifice an hour of their time for a woman that is seen by many to have sacrificed almost everything including her sanity at times. Another small delegation of supporters from one of the political parties of Pakistan bolstered the voices who called for justice to be done in the case of Dr Siddique. Their combined passion and spirit made up for those who were not there- and many stayed throughout the afternoon to stand in solidarity for someone they see as a victim of injustice; whose case has been a great travesty. Dr Siddiqui’s plight has also reached the ears of various Islamic groups dubbed as ‘terrorists’ in the West as they have tried to negotiate for her release in prisoner swap deals but have inevitably failed because as we all know the US doesn’t ‘negotiate with terrorists’. So what is the deal in the ‘curious case of Ms Siddique?’ Her story is one shrouded in mystery and the murky, shadowy world of secret rendition, extra judicial practices and covert extradition. Her disappearance in 2003 for 5 years along with her three children- (two of which have never been found) and the families insistence of her being a victim of secret rendition, torture and incarceration during that time when she was detained at Bagram Air Base, have been a highly emotive topic of debate in Pakistan and beyond. She emerged in Afganistan in 2008- allegedly found disorientated, and confused with maps of American towns and bomb-making literature- shortly after which she managed to use her 5’3”, 40kg frail frame to overpower several FBI agents, tried to shoot them with their own weapon before being shot herself in the abdomen and almost getting killed in the process. There are so many things in this story that make no sense. Yet the allegations, trial and subsequent court sentencing resulted in 86 years incarceration at Carswell Prison; the case closed despite being wrought with inconsistencies and uncertainty, fuelling public suspicion and controversy every time the press shed light on it. Dr Aafia has since become a symbol of humanitarian rights abuses and her long term incarceration (until she dies in prison) only increases her appeal to the masses- many in Pakistan, who have dubbed her the ‘Daughter of Pakistan’. The fact that she was convicted in a US court and the recent revelations of CIA ‘torture culture’ that appear to be just the tip of the iceberg in human rights abuses to try and obtain intelligence under duress (and the failure of Intelligence agencies to do so) can only add legitimacy to claims by human rights lawyers, friends and the family of Aafia Siddiqui that she has been the subject of a grave miscarriage of justice and that an open independent enquiry take place in to her case as well as that of all the other detainees kept in detention dungeons like Gitmo and Baghram by the US in collaboration with other governments- including our own. By not allowing due process in many of these cases- those complicit in supporting rendition and torture interrogation programmes alongside the US can only hide their skeletons in their expanding closets for a limited time. The can of worms that the brief report on the CIA has opened is just the start of this fiasco. “Friends of Dr Aafia Siddiqi state that her family has had no contact with Aafia for more than 9 months, and have no ways of knowing if she is alive or if alive in what mental state she is in now. Dr Aafia Siddiqui has been imprisoned in the US since 2008 after five years of secret imprisonment overseas. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention clearly gives the Pakistani Consulate full access to Dr Aafia’s wellbeing. The friends of Aafia Siddiqui are calling the Pakistani Consulate to do the following: 1. To allow an independent medical team into FMC Carswell prison, Texas, US, to conduct a full examination of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. The evaluation team should include her sister, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui, a practicing physician in Karachi, Pakistan. 2. To engage in serious discussions on the repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to her home country Pakistan, to allow her to serve out the remainder of her sentence there, under the appropriate international law. 3. Until such time as repatriation takes place, to ensure that Dr. Siddiqui’s human rights are respected by both U.S. and international law. Dr Aafia Siddiqui has a fundamental right to life without discrimination under the constitution of Pakistan, USA and international conventions. She is entitled to humane treatment and deserves to have her civil and human rights observed, irrespective of the charges placed on her This year’s slogan, Human Rights 365, encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, and at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights.” Earlier this year, In conjunction with activists in the US and here in the UK, a petition was started- To acquire 100,000 signatories in order to try and repatriate Dr Aafia Siddique to Pakistan. These signatures were collected over the month of Ramadan around July this year. Even with the successful collection over and above the numbers required, activists seem to be moving in circles and not really getting much further with this case at all. Every road seems to lead to a dead end. Today, at the Manchester Consulate General office, when the statement above was presented in the form of a letter regarding was presented to the spokesperson who came to discuss the case with the activists, it was claimed that he was not aware of how far the Pakistani Government had taken the case with the American Government as yet. This information was privy to ‘perhaps the Pakistani Foreign office and to the London Office, to whom he was going to send our new letter to. It seemed ludicrous that he was unaware of such a high profile case. What the exercise did prove was how defensive government officials become when they are asked about what they are ACTUALLY DOING about this. I had a similar experience at the Consulate when discussing humanitarian aid being poorly distributed and being sold on the black market in Pakistan during the Nowsherra and Balochistan floods, right under the noses, and often in collaboration with some corrupt members of the government and army. Today was slightly more productive as this official took details so that he could provide us with follow up details about the information he received back from higher government about what- if anything they have done about Dr Aafia Siddique’s case. It is sincerely hoped that Pakistan Consulates all over the world will sit up and grow a bit of a back bone about one of its own. They certainly have the power to challenge those holding Dr Aaafia Siddique- to at least ensure that they are visiting her through the consulate nearest to her and that she has access to a lawyer and her family. These are one of the basic fundamental rights that international conventions have been put in place to enforce. The US needs to stop writing extrajudicial laws, running a para legal system to suit its own agenda and stop dehumanising people that it abuses by labelling them with terms like ‘enemy combatants’. That label has only served to come back and haunt them through other means. The world has become a darker place as a result of secret rendition, torture, violent interrogation and McCarthyism. When the US and allies stop operating beyond the boundaries of international law and hold deviance within its law enforcing agencies to account, the cycle of violence around the world will stop. As long as prisoners such as Dr Siddique, #ShakerAamar, #FahdGhazy and others are made an example of by remaining indefinitely incarcerated, that darkness will spread from generation to generation.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 18:05:59 +0000
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