Govt of Pakistan knows that Aafia was sexually assaulted in US jail, says lawyer

KARACHI: The lawyer of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, Clive Stafford Smith, has said that Aafia was sexually assaulted in the US prison twice and the government of Pakistan fully knows about this matter.

A statement issued by Aafia Movement here said that Senator Talha Mehmood along with Dr Fowzia Siddiqui met Aafia in prison and her mood was relatively better.

However, Clive Stafford Smith met with her client Dr Aafia Siddiqui in FMC Carswell prison for five hours and said: “I had the most delightful five-hour meeting with Aafia today where she spoke of philosophical issues such as she would have at MIT. We rolled back the years, and she spent some time looking happy.”

She thanked Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan for clarifying why Allama Iqbal placed the heart, which is connected to the true infinity above the brain, which is limited. She requested him to visit again.

For her sister Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, she said: You are a sister in a million, and I long for you to let me see you. She also thanked Senator Talha for his visit last week, saying you lifted my spirits!  By today I felt almost human….

Clive Stafford Smith said that he is happy to announce that from tomorrow he would also visit Dr Aafia Siddiqui in FMC Carswell prison which would be part of his legal visits.

However, the spokesman of Aafia Movement said that in the whole world family members and friends are allowed to meet prisoners, but a discriminatory attitude is being meted out to Dr Aafia in the US in this regard. He demanded that Aafia be given facility to meet her family members and friends and contact them on phone and video call.

However, lawyer Clive Smith has said that Dr Aafia was sexually assaulted in the US jail twice and the government of Pakistan fully knows about this matter. Dr Aafia informed her lawyer about the sexual assaults and a formal complaint was filed.

Clive Stafford Smith says that in Bigram jail of Afghanistan Dr Aafia Siddiqui was also sexually assaulted as a part of investigation techniques. He said Dr Aafia frequently faces torture and rude behavior. He said as a citizen of the US, he is personally ashamed of what is being done with Dr Aafia in the US jails. He said the details of the sexual torture which Aafia told his are very troubling and sadly they are also true.

He said presently 10250 women are jailed in the US prisons and Dr Aafia faces the worst maltreatment amongst them. He said it is the failure of the government of Pakistan that it could not get Aafia repatriated back home. He suggested that the government of Pakistan should give priority to the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui.