letter to U.S. Consulate General Johannesburg,
To,
Earl Miller
Consul General
U.S. Consulate General Johannesburg,
Rep. of South Africa.
Date : 7th Dec 2014.
Dear Hon. Councilor Miller,
We state the following :
2. The Article 36 of the Vienna Convention clearly gives Pakistani Embassy full access to Aafia and her wellbeing etc. Merely taking the prison's word is not enough. Merely saying Aafia refused is not enough. We need full access, Skype, phone, visit, medical, psychological independent evaluation and it is the duty of the embassy to provide such facilities to Aafia, who is a Pakistani citizen.
3. Dr. Aafia has a fundamental right to life, due process, without discrimination under the constitutions of Pakistan and the USA and under international conventions. She is entitled to humane treatment and deserves to have her civil and human rights observed, irrespective of the charges placed on her.
4. We remind you that, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which the U.S. has ratified, Dr. Aafia's Siddique's current treatment by the U.S. contravenes the following articles:
• No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7.
• All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8.
• Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9.
• No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10.
• Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
• (1) Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
• (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.
Article 12.
• No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
5. We further remind your office that according to the US constitutional “Prisoner Rights,” the US is contravening the following:
-The right to not be punished cruelly or unusually.
– The right to due processes.
– The right to administrative appeals.
– The right to practice religion freely.
– The right to equal protection (Fourteenth Amendment).
– The right to medical treatment (both long and short term).
– The right to visitation.
Furthermore, we remind you of the US Bill of Rights contravention,
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Finally, we request to your office for an urgent intervention on Dr. Aafia Siddique family that the family should be given right to visit and if not at least a telephonic conversation to Dr. Aafia Siddique. We also request to your office for an independent medical doctor visit to ascertain the physical and mental state of Dr. Aafia Siddique.
We thank you in advance for your earliest intervention and cooperation in this regards.
Kind regards,
