Open Letter: Supporting Aafia Siddiqui

30 Comments

1. 

   Ummezaynub

   March 22, 2010 at 1:31 AM

   Ameen, Thumma Ameen. If this can happen to Sister Aafia, it can happen to anyone of us. The sister I remember was the heart behind the MSA of Greater Boston. I was a first year in college and my future husband a sophomore at the same university where she was completing her undergrad. She was one who would make hundreds of samosas to sell at MSA fundraisers. A passionate activist who struggled to find Muslim homes for the hundreds of Bosnian orphans who were brought in to the U.S. I could relate to her then, I spent my childhood in Africa too and like her had come to study in the US from Pakistan, I was barely 17. She was one of the first women I had met who was brilliant, educated, ‘religious’ and a hijabi- not many those around in the 1990s.
   What happened to her is so twisted, so heart wrenching, WHY? HOW? And what crime have her children committed? Azilumantasha’a wa tuzillu mantasha- biyadikalkhair wa huwaa’al kulli shayin kadeer.

   Reply
2. 

   Tiriolo

   March 22, 2010 at 2:05 AM

   I just read a bunch of stuff about here on the Internet. There is no doubt she is involved in some bad stuff. She is in the business of killing people. I think she was most likely a double-triple agent. Her arrest in Afghanistan seems like she was wornout and wanted to give up. I don’t believe the US or Pakistani side, but the painting on the wall says she wasn’t no innocent peace loving lady. She got involved in bad stuff and is paying the price.

   Reply
3. 

   samra

   March 22, 2010 at 2:50 AM

   O you who believe! If a Fasiq (liar – evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done (Al Hujurat, 6)

   Reply
4. 

   Tiriolo

   March 22, 2010 at 3:29 AM

   Her ex husband even said she was working for intelligence agencies. She also went to Liberia Africa in the year 2000 to take money off of poor Africans. I think she dabbled in extremist groups, then went to the CIA when she was caught, then worked again for extremist groups. Either way she worked with and for people who were in the business of killing people, and she is not innocent. She shouldn’t have come the US to begine with or her family. They left Muslim lands to live amongst kafirs just so they could make money. It is time to call out these so called Muslim economic immigrants for what they are, about the money, cell phone, house, car, etc.

   Reply
   • 

     Amad

     March 22, 2010 at 3:33 AM

     Your information needs updating. Please refer to the many articles debunking your “africa” theory and other misinformation

     http://www.muslimmatters.org/tag/aafia

     And any more anti-immigrant xenophobic/islamophobic comments, and you will find a place in the spam box permanently.

     Reply
     • 

       Tiriolo

       March 22, 2010 at 3:47 AM

       What about what her ex husband says, what about her setting up a PO box for a guy in the business of killing people, what about her marrying a guy connected to the 9/11 hijackers?

       So are you saying it halal for a Muslim to move to the land of mushrik (usa) to make money?

       Reply
       • 

         Amad

         March 22, 2010 at 6:23 AM

         Once you read all the facts on this case, then we can address your doubts. What you are saying is basically out of the prosecution’s handbook, without any real evidence.

         Reply
         • 

           Ubair

           April 14, 2010 at 3:53 PM

           I’ve gone over all the materials i can find. I havent depended on just website of blogs but followed the webs of information and here is what I’ve learned

           The blood diamonds in Liberia, the only thing tying her to that is an eye witness account. There is no record of a visa to africa, a record of her being on a flight, no passort information. I’ve worked for an airline, I know exactly the type of information kept and There are multiple copies of passenger lists kept in the airport, on the flight and with the arriving airport, nothing not a single document tying Aafia to Africa. More over if she was to be charged with treason due to these findings it would have been added to the list of charges. She has not ever been charged with aiding terrorist because there has been so little proof to support it.

           Moreover alot of the damning information to her being a hard line terrorist and the only eyewitness accounts of her being seen during the 5 years of Bagram all come from the ex husband. He conveniently was in Islamabad to see her at the airport and he conveniently spotted her in traffic in Karachi years later. Wouldn’t an analytical mind be open to the possiblity that he may just be lying?
5. 

   Muslim Stranger

   March 22, 2010 at 4:28 AM

   Dr. Aafia’s lawyer stated that she can prove that Dr. Aafia was not in Liberia. She was actually in Boston at that time, conducting a play group for children.

   Plus there’s no evidence she was involved in any kind of terrorist activity. She is not even charged of any such activity.

   Even the alleged shooting that she has been charged with, has no finger prints, no physical & forensic evidence. Plus there were differences in witness testimonies. Even then she was found guilty by the jury.

   THATs INJUSTICE!

   Reply
6. 

   Tiriolo

   March 22, 2010 at 4:46 AM

   She was buying body armour and night vision googles for a joke too… Only a naive person would think this women WASN’T involved in something. Why waste time and millions prosecuting some random innocent warm and fuzzy women? They didn’t, there is little doubt she worked for intelligence agencies. If she worked for the Taliban she was going to war agains the US, and they have a right to arrest her. If she was with the CIA she was working for kafirs against Muslims. Either way she is guilty. The stuff about her being raped has been debunked. She was most liked a double or triple agent.

   Reply
   • 

     Amad

     March 22, 2010 at 6:29 AM

     She was buying body armour and night vision googles for a joke too

     She was doing that when you were busy buying dope. I know that about you as much as you know what you mentioned about Dr. Aafia.

     Only a naive person will assume that in the “war on terror”, there aren’t many innocent victims.

     FOCUS on the CASE. She was NOT charged for terrorism or spying. She was charged with attempted murder. Why do you think that is the case? I’ll tell you why. Because the CIA/FBI/etc didn’t have any meat, so they used innuendo and hearsay to mention those UNRELATED facts in the case to scare the jury. If there were FACTS available about her supposed ties to terrorism, then why be afraid to charge her with them?

     THINK with the brain that God has given you and don’t let the Islamophobes and the government think for you.

     The attempted murder conviction without ANY forensic evidence is the real injustice. If you are really not a troll, respond to that. And if you cannot, and you will not, and you continue making stupid assertions, let me warn you that I am running out of patience.

     Reply
7. 

   Tiriolo

   March 22, 2010 at 6:07 PM

   I agree the events in 2008 sound dodgy. I’m just not that naive or biased to think she wasn’t involved in some dubious stuff. She bought 10k worth of night vision goggles and body armor for a reason. Her name was given to the CIA or FBI by Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and she was married to his nephew who was a member of some groups that killed people, he has been charged with it. She made the choice to get involved in these type things, and she is paying the price. You’re comments about forensic evidence aren’t exactly correct, there are cases where people are convicted for murder where there is no body or forensic evidence. They are convicted on circumstantial evidence. If she was an innocent women caught up in some conspiracy why try so hard to save her life, they could have just let her die and swept it under the rug. Her story doesn’t pass the smell test, and anyone who says different is biased or has some personal interest in perpetrating lies.

   Reply
8. 

   Muslim Stranger

   March 23, 2010 at 3:45 AM

   1) Dr. Aafia’s husband bought those night vision goggles & body armour. Not Her.

   2) She has never re-married. Read following comment by ‘Andrew Purcell’ in the following link:
   http://muslimmatters.org/2009/10/28/a-brown-box-on-the-doorstep-aafia-siddiquis-suffering-enclosed/

   He writes:
   “Aafia was married only once, to Mohammed Amjad Khan, the father of their three children.

   1) I have known Aafia and her brother and her sister and their mother for decades. I know this family well enough to know she would not remarry without consulting them, and if their had been a marriage, I would have known about it. She did not consult her family. There was no second
   marriage.

   2) During one of the brief visits she was allowed with her brother he asked
   her if she had married anyone during her missing years. She said no.”

   3) Khlid Shikh Mohammed was water boarded 143 times during 1 month, after which he took Dr. Aafia’s name.
   http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/clive-stafford-smith-the-spooks-are-being-sold-down-the-river-1921030.html

   Reply
9. 

   Andrew Purcell

   March 23, 2010 at 7:04 AM

   Tiriolo, you “just read a bunch of stuff about her on the Internet”.

   As of a few minutes ago there were over half a million entries for “Dr Aafia” listed on Google. You just read all of them? And that quickly? I am impressed. 

   But you seemed to have missed a few. For example, any mention of the Pakistani government’s announcement in 2003 that she had been arrested in Karachi and turned over to American agents. 

   You also seem to have missed all mention of eyewitness reports that put her in Bagram Prison.  

   Quoting her ex-husband does nothing for the credibility of your research. He is her ex-husband for a reason. And how did you determine that he had access to the roster of undercover operatives for multiple intelligence agencies? You read it on the Internet.

   You “think she dabbled in extremist groups, then went to the CIA when she was caught, then worked again for extremist groups.” Because you read it on the Internet. Bravo!

   You know that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed named her and that she married his nephew because you read it on the Internet.    

   About the body armor and the night vision goggles. The story is that her ex-husband is the one who is said to have made those purchases. 

   You “just read a bunch of stuff about her on the Internet” and you couldn’t find one citation among over half a million entries on Google that indicated any evidence of innocence. 

   The quality of the people attacking Aafia on the Internet has certainly declined recently. I almost miss Mohammed Khan.

   Reply
10. 

    Muslim Stranger

    March 23, 2010 at 8:19 AM

    “IN SEARCH OF PRISONER 650” (Excerpt From Documentary By Yvonne Ridley) – Witness Testimonies Differ !!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RxrkbSv7yw

    Must See

    Reply
    • 

      ghuraba

      March 24, 2010 at 4:53 PM

      It’s been taken down.

      Reply
11. 

    Tiriolo

    March 23, 2010 at 11:16 AM

    Aafia Siddiqui was married, this was acknowledge by Ammar Al Baluchi’s family, many inelligence agnecies, and finally Aafia in court. Aafia’s family, especially her mother and sister are liars, yes I said, they have no credibility. She couldn’have been tortured and raped for five years, her uncle said she came to his house in 2008 and stayed a few days, her husband also saw her a few times. She went underground hiding from the authorities and her husband. Her and her lawyers argumetns were debunked in this article, the journalist went to Pakistan and interviewed all parties invovled. Her family don’t want anyone to interview her son because it will prove Aafia and the family are liars. This case is a slam dunk, the woman was up to NO GOOD! Andred the accusations from Bagram are rumors, and just that. Her mother and sister are liars, trying to confuse people about the facts of the case. Her uncle a devout bearded Muslim let her stay in his house 6 months before she captured in Afghanistan, the stuff about Bagram are lies, she was on the run!

    Six months after her divorce, she married Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, at a small ceremony near Karachi. Siddiqui’s family denies the wedding took place, but it has been confirmed by Pakistani and US intelligence, al-Baluchi’s relatives and, according to FBI interview reports recently filed in court, Siddiqui herself. At any rate, it was a short-lived honeymoon.

    The truth of the matter, he said, was that Siddiqui had never been sent to Bagram. Instead she spent the five years on the run, living clandestinely with her three children, under the watchful eye of Pakistani intelligence. He told me they shifted between Quetta in Baluchistan province, Iran and the Karachi house I had visited earlier that day. It was a striking explanation. When I asked for proof, he started at the beginning.

    Khan’s explanation is bolstered by the one person who claims to have met the missing neuroscientist between 2003 and 2008 – her uncle, Shams ul-Hassan Faruqi. Back in Islamabad, I went to see him.

    A sprightly old geologist, Faruqi works from a cramped office filled with coloured rocks and dusty computers. Over tea and biscuits he described a strange encounter with his niece in January 2008, six months before she was captured in Afghanistan.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/24/aafia-siddiqui-al-qaida

    Reply
    • 

      Ubair

      April 14, 2010 at 4:08 PM

      Have you ever been to Pakistan? Because I have. Our government doesn’t tend to be as subtle with its injustices as they are in the US or Britain. The FIA, instrusted Dr. Fawzia Siddiqui to keep the child quiet if she ever wants to hear from the other two. Furthermore, your crack witness, the uncle had signed affidavits, and attested to her being with him and now recently changed his story. His reasons for making the statements, if there was anyone forcing his hand, I’m not even going to address that. But by definition, a witness that tells a story and then recants, beard or not, is an unreliable witness. You can’t just choose to believe the ex husband and go on repeatedly about her mother and sister being liars. You need evidence to support your claim. If you don’t have it… don’t make it. You can read what I just wrote three times over, I can prove through various sources the claims made.

      Reply
12. 

    Andrew Purcell

    March 23, 2010 at 11:33 PM

    Tiriolo, once again you are citing as facts statements made without a shred of evidence to back them up because you “just read a bunch of stuff about her on the Internet”.

    Aafia was married once, to Amjad Khan, the father of her three children. She stated in court during her testimony that she had not remarried. I was there. 

    Unnamed sources from unnamed intelligence agencies who are themselves accused of kidnapping Aafia and her children are not paragons of honesty. You will have to do better than that.  

    And I do not mean Aafia’s uncle. In the past, Uncle has dreamt about events that never happened and then can’t tell the difference between the real and the imaginary. I know this because several years ago one of his little fantasies inadvertently dragged me into it. While he is a skilled storyteller who enjoys the attention of an audience, he is not reliable.

    As an example, in his story, he saw through the scarf that Aafia was wearing over her face and determined that she had undergone plastic surgery. Earlier this year I sat for three weeks in a Federal Courthouse in New York City at her trial. While she kept her face covered for most of the trial, there was a moment when she stood up, faced the spectators, removed the scarf covering her face, and made a statement. She was standing right in front of me, maybe twelve feet away. There was no plastic surgery. That was the face of the woman I was introduced to twenty years ago. That was the face I saw many times over the years.      

    Your hysterical shrieking that Aafia and her family are all liars does not constitute proof or evidence. It only demonstrates that you are unhinged, and that you have no evidence or proof to support your position.    

    Reply
    • 

      Tiriolo

      March 24, 2010 at 1:33 PM

      Wait, I have no evidence, but you can say she was held in Bagram for the entire time she was “missing” without any proof and you’re right! LOL, sorry my friend, things don’t work that way. Her mother and sister are proven liars. It has been proven by her ex husband and her uncle, both bearded and devout Muslims, they doctors too I must add. Her uncle hadn’t seen her in many years, and the nose thing is a minor detail. They have no reason to lie or fabricate anything, but her supporters do! Your slander of the uncle doesn’t mean he’s lying. She was married to Ammar Al Balushi, his family and Aafia herself admit it, to say otherwise you’re being a liar, and losing credibility. So all these different characters with nothing to gain all say she was involved in shady stuff, but her proven liar mother and sister. She was involved, that is why the court rightfully found her guilty. How much is her mother and sister paying you to spread this disinfo?

      Reply
13. 

    Andrew Purcell

    March 25, 2010 at 12:17 AM

    Hello T,

    I never said she was held at Bagram. I merely stated that among the half million items about Aafia avaialable on the Internet you didn’t manage to find any references to eyewitnesses who identified her as the woman they saw there. 

    You claim to be an expert because you “just read a bunch of stuff about her on the Internet”. I am disputing your expertise.  

    All I have to go on is the quarter of a century of close friendship with Aafia and her sister and her brother and their mother.

    Fowzia and Ismat Siddiqui have made statements that are contradicted by the uncle and the ex-husband. This does not make them liars. Without supporting evidence you cannot make a judgement. Based on what I have witnessed over the last seven years, I believe that the statements made by Fowzia and Ismat Siddiqui are the truth.

    Next point. Bearded and devout Muslims are no more or less likely to be imperfect than clean-shaven and devout Christians.

    The lack of plastic surgery is important because it contradicts a detail in the uncle’s story. If his description of her basic appearance incorrect, the rest of his story becomes suspect. 

    If you are going to accuse me of something, use the correct term. Slander is a spoken attack using information known to be false. The term you are looking for is libel, a written attack using information known to be false. 

    I neither slandered nor libeled the uncle. I merely said that I have been involved in an incident that indicated his inability to recognize the difference between reality and his dreams.

    Again, Aafia did not remarry. During her trial she specifically denied marrying a second time. As for the account of the family of the reputed second husband, the only references I have found confirming this are from anonymous sources from unnamed intelligence agencies who are suspected of kidnapping and imprisoning Aafia.

    The jury in New York City said nothing about anything or anyone shady that she was involved in. The judge in the case repeated over and over to the jury that they were allowed to consider only the events that occured on July 18, 2008. The jury found her guilty of picking up a rifle and shooting at a group of Americans in a jail in Afghanistan. Nothing else.

    How much money am I receiving form Aafia’s mother and sister? Clearly you do not know these two extraordinary women. But let me return your question. How much money are you receiving from the ISI and the American Embassy in Pakistan?   

     

    Reply
    • 

      Ubair

      April 14, 2010 at 4:13 PM

      Thank you so much, that was the final piece to the puzzle. The second married seemed to convenient and it didnt fit the timline, if I am allowed to quote you that you are sure she attested to this at the trial then I can write the story completely.

      Reply
14. 

    Slave of the Most Loving One

    March 25, 2010 at 12:15 PM

    “Surely Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish.” Holy Quran~17:81

    May Allah guide and have mercy on the truthful and punish the liars and evil doers..ameen!

    Reply
15. 

    Muslim Stranger

    March 25, 2010 at 10:59 PM

    Quote:
    ” Allah not only punishes a nation becuz of bad deeds of its bad people,
    but Allah also punishes a nation becuz of SILENCE of its good people”

    Reply
16. 

    Slave of the Most Loving One

    March 26, 2010 at 6:21 AM

    Yeah true…very true…

    may He grant us the strength to speak and stand up for the truth at all times!

    Reply
17. 

    Muslim Stranger

    March 27, 2010 at 2:43 AM

    Frontline Special Program On Dr.AAFIA SIDDIQUI on Dawn News:
    (26 March, 2010):

    PART1:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb7DTBk7ti8

    PART 2:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojtsycx_1ic

    PART 3:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4hkrB2vc4o

    PART 4:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3i8E-dd9x8

    PART 5:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzxofE-zGp8

    Reply
18. 

    Muslim Stranger

    March 29, 2010 at 7:24 AM

    JUSTICE FOR AAFIA (New Website):

    http://www.justiceforaafia.org/

    Youtube Video: JUSTICE FOR AAFIA:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xgUiZEiQ_A

    Reply
19. 

    Connie L. Nash

    April 1, 2010 at 1:53 AM

    The open letter was unusually clear and should “ring true” to people of various faiths and backgrounds. Thank you for re-posting.

    This discussion is illuminating and I really appreciate the way you host this site, Mr. Amad, with grace – piece and patience.

    Mr. Purcell, would you be willing for me to interview you for a blogpost? I am sensing you could be unusually helpful in clarification as the sentencing is approached. Sorry to lose touch with you.

    New email address:

    oneheartforpeace.blogspot.com

    Thank You,

    Connie

    Reply
20. 

    Connie L. Nash

    April 1, 2010 at 8:41 AM

    Sorry, my email is oneheartforpeace@gmail.com or call 828 884-9467 (Mr. Purcell)

    Reply
21. 

    Muslim Stranger

    April 25, 2010 at 11:12 PM

    Presentation by Yvonne Ridley – Dr. AAFIA SIDDIQUI – Human Rights Violations !!!
    PART 1:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ2BKzsP0p0

    PART 2:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVH1oKjFD_4

    PART 3:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u87avZeKOs

    PART 4:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09SNClBVTXg

    PART 5:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXre4g3xIaY

    Reply