Dr. Aafia Hearing Today, September 23 [Updated with Eyewitness Report]

24 Comments

1. 

   Hidaya

   September 22, 2008 at 4:28 PM

   In her last hearing, they announced the date of 22nd @ 2:30 so I went today…however when I got there, I found out that it was postponed to 23rd =(

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2. 

   Amad

   September 22, 2008 at 5:23 PM

   I guess u should check MM twice a day, everyday :)

   Inshallah Allah will reward you for both trips, today’s and tomorrow’s !

   Please do send us an update as quickly as you can after tomorrow’s hearing… I am sure many of Dr. Aafia’s well-wishers are anxious to know how the case is going.

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3. 

   Yaser Birjas

   September 22, 2008 at 5:24 PM

   Calling all brothers and sisters:

   Don’t forget to remember Dr. Aafia and her children in your du’a during this blessed season of the last ten nights of Ramadan. They need our help and this is the least we can do.

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4. 

   Bint Bashir

   September 23, 2008 at 12:37 AM

   You can follow updates here:

   http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=1367

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5. 

   Amad

   September 23, 2008 at 4:56 PM

   Any news on the hearing?? How did it go??

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6. 

   Yaser Birjas

   September 23, 2008 at 5:37 PM

   Any updates?

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7. 

   Hidaya

   September 23, 2008 at 6:20 PM

   —> Moved into main post. Jazakillahkhair Sr. Hidaya [MM]

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8. 

   Hidaya

   September 23, 2008 at 6:24 PM

   I am assuming that she didn’t come due to strip search, I mean if I were in her place then, I too wouldn’t want to go through such humiliation at every gate.

   I almost teared when her lawyer said that Afiya sounds like she wants to be over with her life!, not in terms of ending her life but just wants to be over with it. SubhanAllah, May Allah swt give her Istiqamah , Sabr and Tawakkul! I can’t even begin to imagine what she is going through…

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9. 

   Umm Reem

   September 24, 2008 at 10:44 AM

   JazakAllah khair Sr. Hidaya.

   I am, also, still wondering what happened with her other two children. As a mother, I cannot even begin to imagine what would happen if I hadn’t known the whereabouts of one of my children (iyyadhobillah), she doesn’t know anything about two of her children…May Allah have mercy one her and her children…

   Her lawyer had sent a request to stop the strip search, was her request ever granted?

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10. 

    Bint Bashir

    September 24, 2008 at 11:41 AM

    Umm Reem, of the reasons Aafia is not attending the court is because she does not want to go through the strip search everytime, and as to why she has not met with her lawyers is the same, they want to strip search her before and after every visit, and the ironic thing is even if she did meet with them it would be through a glass window – so i ask what is the need for the search in the first place?

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11. 

    Hidaya

    September 24, 2008 at 2:10 PM

    Strip search is a protocol which that particular prison follows, Judge had asked last time if they can accommodate her (meaning have only female guards present however it was concluded that it is not feasible as there are too many male guards and strip search is done at ever gate)

    Nothing was mentioned about her two kids.

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12. 

    muslim

    September 25, 2008 at 12:50 AM

    Oh Allah free all muslims and bless them for their efforts and forgive them for their sins and PUNISH the zalimon…in this life and the hereafter…GIVE VICTORY to MUSLIMS and those who are struggling in your path and DESTROY the munafiqon…..say Ameen

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13. 

    Muhammad Abid

    September 26, 2008 at 1:00 AM

    dr.afia is not supporting allqedda .musraff said america to help in war then amreca will say that there are talibani and what erver then america will restirk our country dr.afia zindabad bush is a lol person amrican are shit

    more news about dr aafia

    draafia.org

    Reply
14. 

    confused!

    September 27, 2008 at 1:31 AM

    Thanks for your efforts and time to attend her hearing and updating this blog. JazakAllah. I just want to add that strip search is not only humiliating but also painful maybe impossible for her to “squat and cough” due to her stomach wounds. Does anyone know if this is the SOP in the detention centers that all female prisoners get searched by male guards. I am hard pressed to accept that. And how about her lawyer’s request to have her transferred in a hospital environment?

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15. 

    AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian

    October 1, 2008 at 11:29 PM

    Strip search is a protocol which that particular prison follows, Judge had asked last time if they can accommodate her (meaning have only female guards present however it was concluded that it is not feasible as there are too many male guards and strip search is done at ever gate)

    subhanAllah! can anyone imagine that she is ever for one moment out of their custody or out of constant surveillance in the distance between each gate? is it that they fear a means of achieving liberty will suddenly appear in her possession, and that, somehow without their knowing she will find the means to hide such an item on her person? and not just on her outward person, but — while she is “escorted” and monitored by male guards — in some private place?

    is it that they believe in jinn? do they believe she is a magician? do they think that if Allah were to grant her a miracle, that they could thwart Him? given the horror of what they want to do to her and have done to her previously, and their insistence that they act as righteous people, would it not take a miracle to succor her?

    or is it their own guards they do not trust, so they abuse her because the guards have a union to defend them? will they bring in a Muslim guard or translator, falsify charges against him in the style of those brought against James Yee, and then say — “look! she had a conspirator, we brought him here, and despite the fact that our background checks uncovered every aspect of his life, we somehow did not realize that he has a link to her that goes back 50 years — before either of them was born! and thus, we would have been betrayed but for the diligent, thorough, and multiple invasive-searches of her person!”

    and these are the standard bearers of justice? no wonder the idol of justice in this country wears a blindfold, she would go blind if she could see in the first place. her heart would break, if it were not mere stone already affronted by the evil of being carved into a statue. and she would go mute from horror, if she were not already completely powerless and so obviously impotent.

    like all mushriks, the priests of the justice system invoke their goddess constantly and then do as they please. and these are advanced-stage mushriks, they admit readily that there is nothing there but a statue, a symbol. and yet they cry out against any in the world who do not submit to their image of justice.

    subhanAllah, reading this article and the reports of what has been done to Dr. Aafia, can anyone with any perspective and intellect truly doubt that America needs Islam? i don’t mean the politicians and demagogues who need Islam to be their punching bag. i mean America, the nation and people that once were respected the world over for qualities that are now badly tarnished, a luster of gold that has been replaced by a superficial layer of carny’s tinsel (note: the word “carny” has nothing to do with Owais al Karni).

    may Allah subhanahu wata ala accept all of our fasting and ibadaat during Ramadan, especially our prayers for the oppressed like Dr. Aafia.

    I found that the more I thought about whom I was praying for and why, the wider the scope of my prayer, and the longer the prayer kept getting: “O Allah, I ask you for all the oppressed Muslims, whether they be known to us or kept in hiding, whether they be in cages, jails, in their own homes under the thumbs of abusive rulers, or driven off by offensive invaders, whether they be men, women, babies, young children, or the elderly, whether they have been tortured physically, mentally, or emotionally, whether they have been kept alone or in groups or in nations, o Allah, forgive them all for all their sins and excesses, strengthen them, and give them victory over the injustice of their oppressors.” ameen. and in some sijdas it would get longer, alhamdolillah, because you have to pray for the families of these victims and the organizations like cageprisoners that support them all, mashaAllah.

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16. 

    Bint Bashir

    October 2, 2008 at 1:19 AM

    As Our Beloved Prophet SAW says:

    Feed the hungry and visit the sick, free the captive if he is unjustly confined, and assist the oppressed.

    Reply
17. 

    confused!

    October 9, 2008 at 12:40 PM

    I understand she has been transferred to Ft. Worth. Why? Can a judge do that on his discretion? Please explain if you can!

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18. 

    Amad

    October 9, 2008 at 2:41 PM

    Here is something from Dawn:

    http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/09/top11.htm

    Senators meet Aafia, call for her release

    By Our Correspondent

    NEW YORK, Oct 8: Four Pakistani senators on Tuesday met Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist being held at a medical facility in Carswell, Texas, for medical evaluation, on orders from a US court judge.

    Talking to reporters by telephone from Texas after the meeting, leader of the delegation Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said “we want immediate release of Ms Aafia Siddiqui.”

    “She has no terrorism charges against her. She should be immediately repatriated to Pakistan because her human rights have been violated and US is getting bad image as a consequence,” said Mr Mushahid. He said that the meeting with Ms Siddiqui lasted two hours and 45 minutes. Others in the delegation included Senators S.M. Zafar, Saadia Abbasi and Talha Mahmood.

    Ms Siddiqui was sent to the psychological evaluation facility on Sunday on orders from Judge Richard Berman to determine if she was “medically fit and mentally competent” to stand trial.

    Pakistan has asked American authorities to send Dr Siddiqui to Pakistan because the best possible treatment is available there.

    Dr Aafia’s lawyer in New York pleaded that she should not be sent to Texas where she could undergo only psychiatric examination, adding that she also required medical treatment.

    Ms Siddiqui has not attended court proceedings since September 4 and authorities have informed the court that she has boycotted the proceedings to protest against her body search.

    She was shot in the abdomen by an officer after allegedly grabbing a US soldier’s gun during questioning in July and was brought to the United States to face charges of attempted murder and assault.

    It is unclear how she came to be in Afghanistan. US officials say police found documents in her handbag on making explosives, excerpts from the book, “Anarchist’s Arsenal” and descriptions of New York City landmarks.

    Her lawyers say she may be a victim of torture and believe she was kidnapped with her children in March 2003 in Karachi and secretly held in custody for the past five years by either Pakistani or US authorities.

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19. 

    Abu Sabaya

    October 16, 2008 at 7:50 PM

    I had posted this elsewhere, and will include it here for relevance:

    This is some of what was said in the court while they were trying to convince the judge to move her to a hospital in NYC:

    * She was strapped down to a table (both arms, both legs) for extended periods of time while being interrogated by FBI agents in Afghanistan
    * Her teeth are rotting out
    * She spends a great deal of time crying in her cell
    * She hallucinates that her children are in her cell with her
    * She was once served some turkey, and requested that the prison package the plate and ship it to her children in Afghanistan
    * She cannot see anyone without first being stripped and searched (which is why she hasn’t seen a doctor or a lawyer for months)
    * Her strip searches are videotaped by the prison, and she has stated that she fears that these videos will be taken and posted on the Internet
    * When she received news of her son being released from Baghram, she was in such a state of general depression that she showed no emotional reaction
    * She is overly polite and grateful to the prison staff, and her lawyers explained that this is due to the contrast from her treatment when she was held in Baghram

    The point of the past few hearings was basically to convince the judge to move her to a state-run hospital in NYC where she could be evaluated as well as treated. The government, however, wanted her to be moved to a federal center (basically, a prison with a clinic) to be evaluated only (no sufficient treatment). As we now know, the judge went along with government wishes and moved her to a prison in Texas so that she could undergo psychiatric/psychological evaluation to determine if she is fit to stand trial.

    I ask Allah to revive our anger and jealousy for Aafia. Imagine, our precious sister strapped down to a table in fear with these anjas surrounding her, looking at her…I get sadder everytime I think about this…

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20. 

    Abu Sabaya

    October 16, 2008 at 7:52 PM

    By the way, the above is a combination of what was said in her last two hearings (9/4 and 9/23).

    Reply
21. 

    Amad

    October 16, 2008 at 10:04 PM

    jazakAllahkhair Abu Sabaya for the info. Incredibly horrible and sad. Honestly, these people have no heart… seems that hatred has made that piece of flesh into stone.

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22. 

    Abu Umar

    October 18, 2008 at 11:27 PM

    The brother of ‘Aafia Siddiqui was recently able to visit her:

    Dr. Aafia Siddiqui had another visitor six days after senators from Pakistan, according to Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui, her sister. This visitor was Aafia’s brother. According to him, she was brought in handcuffs and chains to meet him. She was frail and bent. “Aafia has no insight to the extent of allegations against her,” according to Fouzia. “She was paranoid and at times delusional.” According to this report, Aafia was so tired of the torture and abuse that she had requested the facility authorities not to put her on DNR (artificial respiratory system) and let her die. “Putting on artificial respiratory system once saved her life, when she became unconscious during torture,” the sister added.

    Four senators who met Aafia on October 6 verified, just like representatives of Pakistan embassy earlier, that Aafia appeared to be mentally stable. That statement caused concern because American lawyers of persecution and defense had unanimously raised questions about Aafia’s mental capability to stand trial. According to senators, Aafia said that she didn’t trust her American lawyers (apparently referring to Elaine Whitfield Sharp and Elizabeth Fink).

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23. 

    AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian

    October 18, 2008 at 11:49 PM

    innalhamdolillah. laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billah. inna Lillahi wa inna ilahi raji’oon. Allahumma ujurnaha fi museebatiha w’ukhluf liha khayran minha.

    Reply
24. 

    Aafiya

    January 10, 2010 at 1:45 AM

    May Allah answer Afiya’s du’as as He answered Asiya’s du’as against Fir’aown, for Afiya is definitely the Asiya of our time,

    رب ابن لي عندك بيتا في الجنة و نجني من فرعون و عمله و نجني من القوم الظالمين
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    اللهم انا نسألك العفوة و العافية في الدنيا و الآخرة
    اللهم انا نسألك العافية في ديننا و دنيانا و أهلينا و أموالنا
    اللهم استر عوراتنا و آمن روعاتنا
    اللهم احفظنا من بين أيدينا و من خلفنا
    و عن يميننا و عن شمالنا و من فوقنا
    و نعوذ بعظمتك أن نغتال من تحتنا

    آآآآآآآآآآآآآ ميييييييييييييييييييييين

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