There now remains, after today, on which we mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, 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: • Remind the Pakistani government of their obligation to their citizen and that they are in a unique position to change the course of events; if they requested it, it would be granted immediately. • Urge them to do all in their capacity and exhaust every avenue to pressure for Dr Siddiqui's repatriation to Pakistan prior to her sentencing hearing on August 16th • That she will not have the right to appeal post sentencing and repatriation thereafter will be far more difficult • That Pakistan should 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. • Refer to the shocking miscarriage of justice in the trial; the absence of any forensic physical evidence; the abusive treatment she has endured in US custody; • 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. • Emphasize 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; • That public anger and anti-US sentiment will only increase if Dr. Siddiqui is not returned to Pakistan and receives a harsh sentence. Write to: Mr. Asif Ali Zardari President of Pakistan President's Secretariat Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Email: [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: +92 51 921 0335 Fax: +92 51 920 7600 Email: [email protected] , [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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: [email protected] IHRC
