As the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture draws to a close, there now remains only 50 days before Dr. Aafia Siddiqui will be sentenced following her conviction in a US court in February. It is highly probable that she will receive a heavy sentence, and thus spend the remainder of her life in solitary confinement in a harsh US prison, never to see her children again.
Siddiqui’s legal team has warned that there will be far greater obstacles in the way of her release and repatriation after she has been sentenced. Moreover, she will no longer have the right to appeal against the conviction, post sentencing, before the US Supreme Court.
US Attorney General Eric Holder and Anne Patterson, the US Ambassador to Pakistan have both made misleading statements that Dr. Siddiqui cannot be repatriated as her case is still pending in the US courts. In the words of Siddiqui’s lawyer, Tina Foster, “this is incorrect and the government of Pakistan should not be fooled by this obvious attempt to forestall Dr Siddiqui’s return to Pakistan."
It is fully within the capability of the governments of Pakistan and the US to ensure her repatriation to Pakistan. We therefore urge all concerned individuals to write to the US and Pakistani governments, to exert every possible effort to ensure Dr Siddiqui’s immediate repatriation to Pakistan, ahead of her sentencing in August.
TAKE ACTION
Write to the Pakistani and US Governments:
SAMPLE LETTER TO PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT PLEASE AMEND WHEN SENDING TO US GOVERNMENT.
Dear [name]
This letter is to raise the huge concern regarding Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case. There now remains only 50 days before Dr. Aafia Siddiqui sentencing following her conviction in a US court in February, where it is highly probable that she will receive a heavy sentence, and thus spend the remainder of her life in solitary confinement in a harsh US prison, never to see her children again.
Siddiqui’s legal team has warned that there will be far greater obstacles in the way of her release and repatriation after she has been sentenced. Moreover, she will no longer have the right to appeal against the conviction, post sentencing, before the US Supreme Court.
US Attorney General Eric Holder and Anne Patterson, the US Ambassador to Pakistan have both made misleading statements that Dr. Siddiqui cannot be repatriated as her case is still pending in the US courts. In the words of Siddiqui’s lawyer, Tina Foster, “this is incorrect and the government of Pakistan should not be fooled by this obvious attempt to forestall Dr Siddiqui’s return to Pakistan."
It is fully within the capability of the governments of Pakistan and the US to ensure her repatriation to Pakistan. I am therefore urging you to exert every possible effort to ensure Dr Siddiqui’s immediate repatriation to Pakistan, ahead of her sentencing in August.
Dr Siddiqui is the citizen of Pakistan and hence it is the obligation of the Pakistani government who are in a unique position to change the course of events; whereby if you requested it, it would be granted immediately.
It is vital, Pakistan are not be misled by inaccurate statements that Dr Siddiqui cannot be repatriated legally at this time.Dr. Siddiqui was not charged with committing any crime on US soil nor is she a US citizen and therefore should not have been extradited to the US but either tried in Afghanistan or extradited to Pakistan.
The seven year nightmare Siddiqui has endured since her extralegal disappearance in 2003, forcibly separated from her children whose welfare was a source of immense anxiety for her to date; reportedly held without charge and tortured in US custody in secret prisons for five years; The state of Dr Siddiqui’s mental health which we fear can only deteriorate further if she faces the rest of her life in a harsh US prison. Aafia Siddiqui flawed trial, comprising of the shocking miscarriage of justice in the trial with the absence of any forensic physical evidence whereby she was found guilty with insufficient evidence has resulted in the possibility of life in prison.
Please consider the very fact that Aafia Siddiqui is not only the ‘Daughter of the Nation’ but holds a place in the hearts of Pakistanis, Muslims and people of conscience internationally irrespective of their faith, nationality or location; there is already immense international outrage about the case;
The public anger and anti-US sentiment will only increase if Dr. Siddiqui is not returned to Pakistan and receives a harsh sentence.
I strongly urge you to do everything in your capacity and exhaust every avenue to pressure for Dr Siddiqui’s repatriation to Pakistan prior to her sentencing hearing on August 16th. I am sure you are aware she will not have the right to appeal post sentencing and repatriation thereafter will be far more difficult.
I look forward to your prompt and considered response.
[name]
Write to:
Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN,
Email:
publicmail@president.gov.pk
Phone 92-51-9204801-9214171
Fax 92-51-9207458
Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9221596
E-mail:
secretary@cabinet.gov.pk
Mr. Rehman Malik
Minister of Interior
Room No. 404, 4th Floor, R Block,
Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2624
Tel: +92 51 9921 2026
E-mail:
minister@interior.gov.pk
ministry.interior@gmail.com
interior.complaintcell@gmail.com
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi,
Foreign Minister,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Islamabad,
Pakistan
Tel: +92 51 921 0335
Fax: +92 51 920 7600
Email:
spokesman@yahoo.com,
smhq148@hotmail.com
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington,
DC 20500
Tel: 202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-246
Email at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Eric Holder,
Attorney General,
U.S. Department of Justice,
950 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington,
DC 20530-0001
Tel: 202-353-1555
Email:
AskDoJ@usdoj.gov
Hilary Clinton
Secretary of State,
U.S. Department of State,
2201 C Street,
N.W. Washington
DC 20520
Tel: +1 202 647 4000
Fax: +1 202 261 8577
Email:
questions@friendsofhillary.com