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Reply:
Afia Siddiqui -Coincidently- F
Replied by( Noman)
Replied on (6/Aug/2008)
.Pakistan has demanded consular access to a Pakistani woman with suspected links to al Qaeda who is due to be arraigned in New York on Tuesday on charges of attempting to murder U.S. troops
By Aftab Borka
http://www.reuters. com/article/ latestCrisis/ idUSISL107305KARACHI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan has demanded consular access to a Pakistani woman with suspected links to al Qaeda who is due to be arraigned in New York on Tuesday on charges of attempting to murder U.S. troops and FBI agents in Afghanistan.
The New York Times newspaper said Aafia Siddiqui, a U.S.-trained neuroscientist, has links to at least two of 14 suspected high-level al Qaeda members held at Guantanamo Bay.
The story of her arrest is one of the strangest to emerge since the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on the United States.
Siddiqui was brought to the United States on Monday and is due to be formally accused before a New York court of trying to kill U.S. soldiers and FBI agents at an Afghan police station last month, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Pakistan's ambassador to Washington made the request for consular access on Monday, Pakistan's state-run news agency said.
Afghan police arrested Siddiqui after becoming suspicious of her behaviour outside the provincial governor's compound in the city of Ghazni on July 17, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Police found documents describing bomb-making and excerpts from the book, Anarchist's Arsenal, as well as papers describing U.S. landmarks and substances sealed in bottles and jars.
The next day, U.S. soldiers and two FBI agents arrived at the Afghan police station where Siddiqui was being held.
"The personnel entered a second floor meeting room, unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain," the department said on its Web site. A U.S. warrant officer placed his rifle on the ground, next to the curtain.
"Shortly after the meeting began, the captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the warrant officer's rifle and pointing it directly at the captain," the Justice Department statement said.
"The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The warrant officer returned fire with a 9 mm service pistol and fired approximately two rounds at Siddiqui's torso, hitting her at least once."
Despite being shot, Siddiqui continued to struggle and struck and kicked the officer while shouting in English that she wanted to kill all Americans and then passed out, the statement said.
RAPE ALLEGATION
Afghan police in Ghazni however, told a different story. They said officers searched Siddiqui after reports of her suspicious behaviour and found maps of Ghazni, including one of the governor's house, and arrested her along with a teenage boy.
U.S. troops requested the woman be handed over to them, but the police refused, a senior Ghazni police officer said.
U.S. soldiers then proceeded to disarm the Afghan police at which point Siddiqui approached the Americans complaining of mistreatment by the police.
The U.S. troops, the officer said, "thinking that she had explosives and would attack them as a suicide bomber, shot her and and took her". The boy remained in police custody.
Siddiqui and her three children disappeared from her parents' home in the Pakistani port city of Karachi in 2003 and Pakistani human rights groups said they believed the woman had been held at Bagram, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan.
U.S. officials believe Siddiqui was in Pakistan until her arrest in neighbouring Afghanistan, the New York Times said.
Family members said Siddiqui was raped and tortured at Bagram, although they did not say how they knew this.
"Her rape and torture is a crime beyond anything she was ever accused of," Fauzia Siddiqui told reporters in Karachi.
"For a long time, my family and I have kept our silence because we knew she was innocent and also based on threats of severe consequences if we spoke," she said. Fauzia Siddiqui said her sister would not receive a fair trial.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) demanded the Pakistani government intervene and secure her release.
"Dr. Aafia's case is a reminder of the grave injustice done to God knows how many Pakistanis in U.S. detention facilities in Bagram in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, who have been listed as missing" an HRCP statement said. (Additional reporting by Imtiaz Shah in Karachi and Sher Ahmad in Ghazni; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Paul Tait)
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Human rights group and a lawyer for Ms. Siddiqui, Elaine Whitfield Sharp, say they believe that Ms. Siddiqui has been secretly detained since 2003, for much of that time at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
"We believe Aafia has been in custody ever since she disappeared, " Ms. Sharp said in a telephone interview Monday, "and we're not willing to believe that the discovery of Aafia in Afghanistan is coincidence. "
But American military and intelligence officials said that Ms. Siddiqui was in Pakistan for most of the past five years until she resurfaced last month and was captured by the Afghans.
She and her 12-year-old son were arrested in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on July 17.
The American officials accused Ms Siddiqui trying to bomb the residence of Ghazni's provincial governor.
"She was not in U.S. custody," said a senior American intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the pending legal action against Ms. Siddiqui.
The intelligence official said that Ms. Siddiqui was injured when an American soldier shot her while taking her into custody from Afghan police last month.
Afghan officials initially said the shooting happened during an argument between the Americans and Afghans, but they later said that Ms. Siddiqui lunged from behnd a curtain and grabbed a rifle, shouting "God is great," and fired two shots. No one was struck.
An American soldier returned fire and injured her and the officers subdued her .
http://www.nytimes. com/2008/ 08/05/world/ asia/05detain. html?ref= world
Reply:
Aafia faces charges of assault
Replied by( Noman)
Replied on (6/Aug/2008)
The story of her arrest is one of the strangest since the Sept 11 attacks on the United States by al Qaeda in 2001. The ambassador of Pakistan made the request for consular access on Monday,
| Aafia faces charges of assaulting US troops |
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Wednesday, August 06, 2008
 NEW YORK: A Pakistani woman accused of grabbing a US soldier's rifle and trying to shoot an Army captain while in custody in Afghanistan will face a US judge in New York on Tuesday on attempted murder charges.
Pakistan's ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani sought consular access to Aafia Siddiqui, a US-trained neuroscientist suspected of links to al-Qaeda, after she was brought to the United States on Monday.
Accounts of her arrest and the shooting incident differed between US prosecutors and Afghan police. Siddiqui, 36, was arrested outside the governor's office in Afghanistan's Ghazni province on July 17 after police searched her handbag and found documents on making explosives, excerpts from the book "Anarchist's Arsenal" and descriptions of New York City landmarks, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
While detained in a meeting room, Siddiqui grabbed the M-4 assault rifle from a US Army warrant officer who had placed the weapon on the floor not knowing she was being held there, the statement said. Two FBI agents were also in the room.
Siddiqui fired at least twice at the captain but the shots missed as a military interpreter lunged at her. The warrant officer then shot her with his pistol, the statement said. "Despite being shot, Siddiqui struggled with the officers when they tried to subdue her; she struck and kicked them while shouting in English that she wanted to kill Americans," it said, adding she then lost consciousness and was given medical treatment.
The New York Times said Siddiqui had links to at least two of 14 suspected high-level al-Qaeda members held at a prison camp at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The story of her arrest is one of the strangest since the Sept 11 attacks on the United States by al Qaeda in 2001. The ambassador of Pakistan made the request for consular access on Monday, APP said.
Afghan police in Ghazni told a different story. They said officers searched Siddiqui after reports of her suspicious behaviour and found maps of Ghazni, including one of the governor's house, and arrested her along with a teenage boy.
US troops requested the woman be handed over to them but the police refused, a senior Ghazni police officer said. US soldiers then disarmed the Afghan police, at which point Siddiqui approached the Americans complaining of mistreatment by the police, the officer said.
The US troops, the officer said, "thinking that she had explosives and would attack them as a suicide bomber, shot her and took her." The boy remained in police custody. US officials believe Siddiqui was in Pakistan until her arrest in neighbouring Afghanistan, the New York Times said.
By Azim Mian adds New York: Michael J Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mark J Mershon, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Raymond W Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced on Monday the arrest of Aafia Siddiqui on charges related to her attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan.
Siddiqui arrived in New York Monday evening and will be presented on Tuesday before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court: on July 17, 2008, officers of the Ghazni province Afghanistan National Police (ANP) observed Siddiqui outside the Ghazni governor's compound. ANP officers questioned Siddiqui, regarded her as suspicious, and searched her handbag. In it, they found numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, as well as excerpts from the Anarchist's Arsenal. Siddiqui's papers included descriptions of various landmarks in the United States, including in New York City. Siddiqui was also in possession of substances that were sealed in bottles and glass jars.
On July 18, 2008, a party of United States personnel, including two FBI special agents, a United States army warrant Officer, a United States army captain, and United States military interpreters, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held. The personnel entered a second floor meeting room "” unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain.
The warrant officer took a seat and placed his United States army M-4 rifle on the floor next to the curtain. Shortly after the meeting began, the Captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the warrant officer's rifle and pointing it directly at the captain. Siddiqui said, "May the blood of [unintelligible] be directly on your (unintelligible, possibly head or hands)."
The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The warrant officer returned fire with a 9mm service pistol and fired approximately two rounds at Siddiqui's torso, hitting her at least once.
Despite being shot, Siddiqui struggled with the officers when they tried to subdue her; she struck and kicked them while shouting in English that she wanted to kill Americans. After being subdued, Siddiqui temporarily lost consciousness. The agents and officers then rendered medical aid to Siddiqui.
Siddiqui, a 36-year-old Pakistani woman who previously resided in the United States, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York with one count of attempting to kill United States officers and employees and one count of assaulting United States officers and employees. If convicted, Siddiqui faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each charge.
Garcia praised the investigative work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York City Police Department. He also expressed his gratitude to the Office of International Affairs of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of State for their assistance in the case.
Garcia also thanked the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts for their assistance. Garcia said the investigation is continuing. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher L Lavigne is in charge of the prosecution. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Reply:
PAKISTAN: FBI is responsible f
The following Statement Issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission shows that most of the hundreds of 'disappeared' were kidnapped by FBI agents in Pakistan. That explains why the USA is op
PAKISTAN: FBI is responsible for disappearance, illegal detention and torture of Dr Afia Siddiqui
The following Statement Issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission shows that most of the hundreds of 'disappeared' were kidnapped by FBI agents in Pakistan. That explains why the USA is opposed to restorarion of CJ Iftikhar Chaudhri (who sarted to ask questions) and why Zaradri and Musharraf are like Siamese twins.
On 24th July the Asian Human Rights Commission issued an Urgent Appeal in the case of the disappearance of a lady doctor. The UA, PAKISTAN/USA: A lady doctor remains missing with her three children five years after her arrest, may be seen at: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2947/
The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), initially admitted that they had arrested Dr. Afia and then later denied it. Now, due to the coverage of the UA both in Pakistan and internationally, the FBI has now announced that "Dr. Afia Siddiqui is alive, she is in Afghanistan but she is injured". No further details have been provided and the AHRC is especially concerned about the three children who were also abducted along with her. It is reported that after receiving hundreds of responses to the UA initiated by the AHRC, the American and Pakistani authorities were compelled to issue information of the whereabouts of Afia Siddiqui who had been missing for five years after being arrested by the Pakistani Intelligence Agency. Acting on the information received, the AHRC in its appeal suspected that Dr. Afia is being kept in Bagram jail, Afghanistan, and that because of severe torture, had lost her mind. At this point people responded in the ir hundreds which pressured the American authorities. On 1st August an FBI official visited the house of Dr. Afia's brother in Houston to deliver the news that she is alive and in custody, Ms. Elaine Whitfield Sharp, Dr. Afia's lawyer, said that FBI officials would not say exactly who is holding her or reveal the fate of her three young, American-born children.
It is also reported that after filing a habeas corpus writ petition in the Islamabad High Court, Dr. Afia's friends and relatives were threatened by several state agencies of Pakistan to withdraw the case or face the same situation.
After the confirmation from the American FBI that she is in Afghanistan and that she is injured, the entire responsibility for Dr. Afia's abduction, being held incommunicado for five years, her torture, illegal detention, illegal handing over to a foreign country and the fate of her three children, lies squarely with the FBI and Pakistani state agencies, particularly the Pakistani ISI, who is currently threatening the family members to remain silent.
The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the UN Human Rights Commission and other Human Rights offices to start an immediate probe into the illegal arrest and detention of Dr. Afia and immediately investigate the situation of the children. The government of America, Afghanistan and Pakistan must bring the perpetrators of such gross human rights violations to trial. NATO, America and its allied forces should be asked to immediately release Dr. Afia Siddiqui and her three children and provide mental and physical rehabilitation to the victims along with substantial compensation. # # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
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