Friday, October 10, 2008

Do You Know Aafia Siddiqui? (Information on Sister Aafia Siddiqui, what YOU can DO!)

Do you know Aafia Siddiqui?

She is a Muslim woman kidnapped by the Pakistani intelligence authorities in 2003 and handed over, as so many of our brothers and sisters have, to the Americans. She was held in the notorious Bagram Prison in Afghanistan for five years. How many of us are even aware of this? This Ummah of Muhammad (salalahu ‘alyhi wasalam) is one body and the pain of one part, of one person, makes the whole body sick. How many of us felt the pain of her kidnapping and of her separation with her three children? Had it not been for the efforts of Cageprisoners and sister Yvonne Ridley, she would have been just another soul lost in the labyrinth of injustice and cruelty. Just another Muslim whose life has no value, whose blood is cheap, whose honour is worthless and who name, whose very existence, is soon forgotten. How many of us pray for our brothers and sisters in prisons around the world? How many of us shed tears for their sufferings? How many of us ever care?

Aafia Siddiqui was held in that cursed prison for five years. She was tormented by the Kufaar, who hate and torture has been exposed on many occasions. She was the lone woman surrounded by men who have no shame and no compassion. She was surrounded by animals to whom a Muslim woman is a toy. Raped, forced to shower naked in front of her captors, beaten by the Kufaar. Some of our Mujahideen brothers who escaped from that prison in 2005 would later tell of her screams from the depths of torture den of the tyrants, as she was violated time and time again. She was humiliated and disgraced by the Kufaar and their allies and worse of all, worse than even all of this suffering, she was forgotten by us.

As the Muslims were starting to awaken to the calls of help of our sister and asking questions, the United States, sensing an impending storm, quickly staged a cover up story, of the likes that we have seen before to bury their hate of the Muslims and to disguise the true nature of this war that we are fighting. According to them, she was captured recently in Afghanistan attempting to provide ‘support for al-Qaeda’ and interrogated. It is interesting to note here that the puppet Afghani government accuses her of being a potential suicide bomber; the two tyrants cannot even get their stories right! The version fed to the media, rather the lie fed to the world, is that the sister was shot during interrogation after an attempted attack on the American soldiers.

“It is reported that when Dr. Aafia disappeared in 2003 she had three children of which the youngest was an infant. However when Dr. Aafia was produced in the court she had only one child in her possession. While the whereabouts of her other two children are not known, there are credible reports that of the two missing children one child had died in custody. The circumstances that led to the death of the child [are] not known and the authorities having custody of Dr. Aafia and her children [have] thus far remained silent about it.
Dr. Aafia's physical and mental state when she was produced in court on August 5 is suggestive of the treatment a detainee like Dr. Aafia receives in custody. Dr. Aafia was reportedly not in a position to speak or even able to verbally respond to the court. Such physical and mental state of a detainee is also an indicator of the condition in which a suspect is detained and interrogated by the authorities responsible for this case.” – Asian Human Rights Commission (5 August, 2008)


“A letter written by Dr Aafia’s counsel Elaine Whitfield Sharp, on behalf of the detainee, to Pakistani ambassador in Washington Husain Haqqani, reveals that the Americans have stressed the need for strip-search of Dr Aafia every time she would meet someone. The inmate is required to be stripped naked and checked to find he/she is not hiding anything on his/her body. I think you will agree that this type of strip-search is not only humiliating and degrading but is also offensive to a woman who is a devout Muslim, as is Dr Siddiqui, the paper quoted her as writing in the letter



The counsel further wrote: Because it is so offensive, Dr Siddiqui is now refusing to undergo this ”procedure” and because she will no longer consent, she is now forbidden from having a contact visit with her attorneys.

Dr Aafia’s counsel further wrote in the letter: I write to you on behalf of Aafia Siddiqui, PhD, a 36-year-old Muslim woman and Pakistani citizen, who is in pre-trial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn , New York . Dr Siddiqui is not allowed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BoP) to have contact visits, that is, she is not allowed to come into physical contact with anyone.” – ANI, August 11 2008.
And why should you not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!” (al-Nisa: 75)
CONTACT AND SUPPORT THE SISTER:
It has been allowed that we may send Letters and Certain Publications to Sister Aafia Siddiqui
All mail will be opened and read by the United States Government. Please do not discuss her case, the charges against her, or where she has been for the past 5 years, her children, of family health matters, and do not ask her to discuss these things with you.Only letters are permitted. Please do not send packages. You can send photographs with your letters, but no other items can be sent by mail.BOOKS/MAGAZINES/OTHER PUBLICATIONSMagazines and Newspapers must be sent directly from the publisher. Books can be ordered through Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/


To send Items Make sure it is to this Address:
ADDRESS: # 90279-054MDC, BROOKLYN METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER P.O BOX 329002 BROOKLYN, NY 11232
Aafia has requested books with nature photographs. She would also like to receive a daily newspaper (The New York Times) and magazines. If you would like to send her a publication, and want to make sure that she has not already received it, please email Sarah Kunstler at sarah@fkolaw.com

ALSO:
Aafia has a commissary account which she can use to make telephone calls and to purchase personal items and snacks.The fastest way to put money into this account is through Western Union. You can do this by telephone, in person at a Western Union location, or online.
1) At an agent location with cash: You must complete a Quick Collect Form. To find the nearest agent, call 1-800-325-6000 or go to http://www.westernunion.com/2) By phone using a credit card / Debit card: Call 1-800-634-3422 and press option 2.3) ONLINE using a credit / debit card: Go to http://www.westernunion.com/ Click on Make Payment. Click the “online” button under “Send Money to an Inmate’s Trust Fund”, select “Federal Bureau of Prisons” as the Correctional Facility and hit continue. Enter the amount of money you want to deposit, the state you are sending from, and hit continue. The Acc # is 90279054SIDDIQUI. Type Aafia Siddiqui in the Attn or Memo line.
For each Western Union Quick Collect transaction, the following information must be provided:1) Account #: 90279054SIDDIQUI2) Attn or Memo Line: AAFIA SIDDIQUI3) Code City: FBOP4) State code: DCIf you have any questions, please contact Sarah Kunstler at sarah@fkolaw.com or call:The Law Office of Elizabeth M Fink36 Plaza Street Suite 1GBrooklyn, NY 11238Tel 718-783-3682Fax 718-783-5853

To each and every Muslim across the globe, we call on each and every one of you to gain knowledge of this situation and others like it and to call on local imams, masjids, and community notables to address the concern and discuss it in their local communities.
This Horrific Situation of our Sister calls for her Immediate Release and Be provided Health Care and To be Sent back to Pakistan with Her Family and 12 year old Son
My Brothers and Sisters We Must Learn we are One Solid Ummah
That we can indeed make a difference if we put the effort
This Case is only One of Thousands
All the either equally or more Horrific
Let This Ummah’s voice be heard
Let Sister Aafia Siddiqui and all other in her situation know that there Ummah, there brothers and sisters have not abandoned them
Inshaa’Allah

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