IJN RELEASES NEW EVIDENCE IN CASE OF DR AAFIA SIDDIQUI – CALLS FOR REPATRIATION
February 14, 2011
New York, NY.
Early Monday morning, International Justice Network published a report regarding the highly controversial case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Representing the Siddiqui Family in the United States, IJN has spent the past 14 months researching the circumstances surrounding the unusual arrest and custody of the Pakistani mother of three. Supported with previously unreleased evidence, IJN has uncovered direct involvement by Pakistan agencies in the disappearance of Dr. Aafia and her three young children in March 2003 — five years before the US government claims she was first arrested in Afghanistan in July 2008.
The report, Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts, reveals shocking new evidence that contradicts official statements from governments of both Pakistan and the United States that Dr. Siddiqui was not detained in their custody prior to her arrest in 2008. IJN has obtained a secret audio recording of a senior Pakistani police official who admits he was personally involved in the arrest of Dr. Siddiqui and her children eight years ago. This account is corroborated by substantial documentary evidence and witness testimony, which all points to the same conclusion—that Dr. Siddiqui and her three children were initially arrested in March 2003 with the knowledge and cooperation of local authorities in Karachi, Pakistan, and subsequently interrogated by Pakistani military intelligence (ISI) as well as U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
This shameful new revelation will not only establish a stage for holding specific political actors accountable for the grave injustice done to Dr. Siddiqui and her family, but should serve as a keystone for repairing the severed diplomatic ties between Pakistan and the United States. In a letter to Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, last week, IJN Executive Director, Tina M. Foster, urged the government of Pakistan to take immediate action to demand Dr. Siddiqui's repatriation, while the U.S. government is seeking the return of the Lahore shooter. In it, Ms. Foster stated:
"The safety and security of all Pakistani citizens is compromised when U.S. government agents can kill civilians on Pakistani soil with impunity, while the daughter of the nation (who has never caused harm or injury to anyone) languishes in a Texas prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Justice demands that Raymond Davis not be repatriated to the United States without securing the return of Dr. Siddiqui to Pakistan. The path is now clear. The only question that remains is whether the government of Pakistan is willing to take it."
To access report documents, please follow the links provided below:
Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts [Appendix A: Certified Transcript of Secret Audio Recording] View / Download 51K (Internet Explorer link)
Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts [Full Report] View / Download 134KB (Internet Explorer link)
Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts [Executive Summary] View / Download 55K (Internet Explorer link)
