Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui was ‘raped’ in US prison, lawyer says
ISLAMABAD: Embattled Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, imprisoned in the United States after being convicted of attacking American troops in Afghanistan, was “raped” in a US prison, her lawyer said on Tuesday.
Siddiqui, a 49-year-old mother of three, is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Carswell, Texas, after a New York court convicted her in 2010 of attempted to shoot and kill a group of people. American soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan who wanted to question him about his alleged links to Al-Qaeda.
His conviction by a US court angered many people in Pakistan, including the former and current Pakistani governments that had campaigned for his release and paid for his legal defense.
Siddiqui’s lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, made shocking revelations about Siddiqui’s mistreatment on Tuesday, a day after meeting with Pakistani FMC scientist Carswell.
“She was raped at FMC Carswell, there is no doubt about it,” Smith, a US-based human rights lawyer who represents Siddiqui, said in an interview with a Pakistani television channel. .
“Well, I mean, at least twice, it’s a formal thing from the guards, but in terms of abuse from the guards and prisoners, countless times.”
As an American, Smith said he was “ashamed” of what the US prison system had done to Siddiqui.
“I filed a report on her abuse and what they did to her is pretty indescribable in terms of sexual abuse,” he said. “She told me in detail how she had been abused.”
Smith said Siddiqui’s complaints were all “extreme” and “true”, and that she had suffered the “harshest” treatment from US prison authorities.
“There are 10,250 women in the (US) federal prison system,” the lawyer said. “The woman who was treated the harshest among these 10,250 people was Aafia Siddiqui.”
Siddiqui, who is reportedly ill, earned advanced degrees from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before being convicted of assaulting U.S. soldiers after being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier.
Her punishment sparked outrage among political leaders and supporters in Pakistan, who viewed her as a victim of the U.S. criminal justice system.
In the years since, Pakistani authorities have publicly expressed interest in any type of deal or exchange that could lead to his release, and his case has continued to attract attention from his supporters.
The government of Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister of Pakistan, as well as the outgoing Pakistani administration of his younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, made efforts to secure Siddiqui’s release during their tenure.
In March this year, the younger Sharif asked the Pakistani Foreign Ministry to stay in touch with the US government and the country’s mission in Washington for the release of the imprisoned Pakistani neuroscientist, following his meeting with the sister of Siddiqui, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui.
Smith said he had informed the Pakistani government of Siddiqui’s abuse and would certainly inform Pakistani authorities of the “horrific details.”
He, however, said it was the duty of the Pakistani government to protect her from abuse.
“It’s her government, it’s her duty to protect her,” he said. “I’ll do what I can, I’m an American, I apologize for what happened to him. But that’s actually, ultimately, the job of the Pakistani government.”
