Political Prisoner Aafia Siddiqui Disavows Hostage Taking
Many Muslim groups in the U.S. not particularly radical in their orientation consider Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani former neuroscientist who had studied at Brandeis University and MIT, an innocent woman framed by the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and a political prisoner. The Council on American-Islamic Relations held a press conference in Texas to support her and call for her release last November. In statements, on a November 11, 2021 panel that was streamed live on YouTube by the Council on American-Islamic Relations Texas (CAIR-TX), titled “Injustice: Dr. Aafia [Siddiqui] and the 20-Year Legacy of America’s Wars,” Aafia Siddiqui’s attorney, Marwa Elbially, said that the U.S. government lies on a large scale. She gave the example of the “fabricated” rescue of U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch, who was taken hostage by Iraqi forces in 2003. She also said that the fact that Aafia Siddiqui has not been made into a “household name” as an example of a terrorist woman is proof that the government never really believed that she was an Al-Qaeda operative. Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, the Executive Director of Mpower Change, called Aafia Siddiqui a “political prisoner” like Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formally known as H. Rap Brown), who is serving a life sentence for the frame-up conviction for the 2000 murder of two law enforcement officers, or like Leonard Peltier of the American Indian Movement, who is serving a life sentence for involvement in the murder of two FBI agents.
Separately, Mauri Saalakhan of the Peace Through Justice Foundation has said: “I wish to thank The Justice For Aafia Coalition (JFAC) for the phenomenal work they have been doing, on a consistent basis, to help lead the global campaign for our sister’s release and repatriation and I pray that they receive consistent communal support commensurate with their noble efforts.” There is a human rights foundation named for her and supporting her release at: https://aafia.org/
According to her lawyer, Aafia had nothing to do with the Dallas incident. “She does not want any violence perpetrated against any human being, especially in her name,” Attorney Marwa Elbially told CNN. “It obviously has nothing to do with Dr. Siddiqui or her family.”
Faizan Syed, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the group considers Siddiqui to have been “caught in the war on terror” as well as a political prisoner who was wrongly accused through flawed evidence. He nonetheless strongly condemned the hostage-taking, calling it wrong, heinous and “something that is completely undermining our efforts to get Dr. Aaifa released.”
ABC News and the AP report that Siddiqui, who has been mostly in solitary confinement for 12 years and was being held in federal prison in Fort Worth TX, was attacked in July by another inmate at the facility and suffered serious injuries, according to court documents. In a lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Prisons, Siddiqui’s lawyers said another inmate “smashed a coffee mug filled with scaling hot liquid” into her face. When Siddiqui curled herself into a fetal position, the other woman began to punch and kick her, leaving her with injuries so severe that she needed to be taken by wheelchair to the prison’s medical unit, the suit says.
Siddiqui was left with burns around her eyes and a three-inch scar near her left eye, the lawsuit says. She also suffered bruises on her arms and legs and an injury to her cheek. The attack prompted protests by human rights activists and religious groups and calls for improved prison conditions. The activists have also called on the Pakistani government to fight for her release from U.S. custody.
Write to:
Aafia Siddiqui #90279-054
MC Carswell
Federal Medical Center
P.O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, TX 76127