Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Help Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Before Eve of Sentencing



Sunday August 15th 2010

Eve of Aafia Siddiqui’s Sentencing

Following Events to take place in London/UK:

Rally From 5pm
Followed by IFTAR, TARAWEEH PRAYER & 24-HOUR VIGIL

US Embassy

24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 2LQ

Nearest Station: Marble Arch

On August 16th 2010, Aafia Siddiqui will be sentenced in the US for a crime she did not commit. In a final stand, join the Justice for Aafia Coalition (JFAC) for a rally outside the US embassy to protest 7 years of detention and abuse, and the impending threat of a life sentence in prison. Dedicated campaigners will remain overnight in a 24 hour vigil.

Speakers to be Announced. Special guest will lead the night prayer (taraweeh).

Free Iftar Provided.

info@justiceforaafia.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.justiceforaafia.org

Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, along with her three children, disappeared in Karachi in March 2003. Their whereabouts were unknown for the next five years. Throughout this time, Aafia was held without charge and abused whilst in secret detention. Former Bagram prisoners testified to the presence of a female prisoner with the number ‘650’, whose horrific screams they would hear.

Following demands for her recovery by human rights organisations and the Pakistani public, Aafia resurfaced in Afghanistan in August 2008, framed with the attempted murder of US personnel. Transferred to the US, Aafia was convicted in a shocking miscarriage of justice, despite the conflicting testimony of the soldiers and lack of evidence - no gun residue from the rifle, no trace of fingerprints on the rifle, no bullet shells in the room or bullet holes on the walls. Despite the prosecution admitting Aafia was not a member of al-Qaeda or linked to any terrorist group, she was for all intents and purposes, tried as such. She will be sentenced on 16th August and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Since her conviction, she has been denied access to phone calls, mail, and any visits, in the interests of ‘national security’. Whilst the two elder children were released in 2008 and 2010 respectively, the whereabouts of her youngest child, Suleman - only six months old at the time of the abduction - remain unknown, although it is believed that he may have been killed in US custody.

THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN... HOW TO HELP AAFIA BEFORE AUGUST 16th:

* REQUEST AAFIA’S IMMEDIATE REPATRIATION TO PAKISTAN

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, President's Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Tel 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, Email: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , ministry.interior@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , interior.complaintcell@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , smhq148@hotmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

* WRITE TO AAFIA

Aafia Siddiqui # 90279-054, MDC Brooklyn, Metropolitan Detention Center, PO Box 329002, Brooklyn, NY 11232

Letters can also be emailed to letters@justiceforaafia.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Email a message of support to her family support@justiceforaafia.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
* Organise events. Ask your local mosque to dedicate the Friday sermon in the run up to the sentencing

* Write to the media

* Wear our JFAC ‘650’ badge and a purple awareness ribbon in solidarity with Aafia

ABOUT JFAC

JUSTICE FOR AAFIA COALITION (JFAC), an umbrella organisation aiming to unite all concerned individuals and organisations to ensure justice for Aafia , was formed in the wake of Aafia’s conviction in February 2010 by a group of Muslim women activists in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia. Membership is open to all, irrespective of faith and location and currently spans five continents.

To join the campaign:

info@justiceforaafia.org

See more at the Website: Justice for Aafia dot org - GO here

2 comments:

  1. @Connie,I really really pleased to see an American so much interested in the Aafia's issue.
    About ths post..
    I suppose all the contacts you mentioned are good except those of the Pakistani authorities as they are helpless and they really can't do anything.Because many of the HR organisations have met him face to face,but we didn't have any real results...

    And I wish I could join the people on the 15.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good to see you again Syeda. Although this was posted as it was on the original site, I do empathize with the frustration over certain contacts. Thanx again for stopping by...

    ReplyDelete