Ex-US congress member calls for Dr Afia Siddiqui's repatriation

Campaigners call for Dr Afia to be repatriated as part of a prisoner exchange.


December 05, 2012
Ex-US congress member calls for Dr Afia Siddiqui's repatriation

ISLAMABAD: Former US Congress member Cynthia McKinney on Wednesday supported repatriation of Dr Afia Siddiqui to Pakistan.

"I am here for Dr Afia Siddiqui. When I first learned of her situation, I decided to do all that I could do to reverse the injustice to this poor innocent woman," McKinney said while addressing a press conference here.

Mckinney, who is on a week long visit to Pakistan as part of her "Give US our daughter back" campaign for repatriation of Dr Afia to Pakistan. She revealed that internationally, many people had signed a petition calling for her release.

International Action Centre principal leader Sara Flounders said that having attended the trial of Dr Afia, her case was an international human rights issue. "The purpose of our visit is to seek justice and family repatriation of Dr Afia."

Flounders said no one can deny the pressure of people's power and the mass rallies and slogan for freedom of Dr Afia She added that they advocate the view that like prisoners exchange policy with other countries, Dr Afia should also be repatriated in a similar exchange.

The IAC official claimed since Dr Afia's sentence was a political sentence and her rendition illegal, the solution to this too was political and diplomatic.

Dr Afia’s sister Dr Fauzia Siddiqui said that there can be no better way to win the hearts of people than to secure the release of Dr Afia.

COMMENTS (11)

Sexton Blake | 11 years ago | Reply

@numbersnumbers: "Wow, Illegally detained", not. Dear Numbers, I would consider that anybody who been detained and tortured for several years, without being charged, has been illegally detained. But then we are getting used to the US having questionably legal methodologies, which is why most countries do not respect America any more.

John Marsh | 11 years ago | Reply Well well so many really stupid comments much to be expected however! 1) Doctor Siddiqui a Chemist was arrested in Pakistan not Afghanistan, in 2003 not 2008 2) She was held in incommunicado in a secret area of Bagram airbase prison torture center for seven years. 3)For the period of years this poor woman spent in this secret prison she was tortured, raped and sexually assaulted by US army CIA personal who knows. she had her teeth pulled with no anesthetic her nose broken and a botch repair surgery amongst all the other despicable acts. 4) When presented with the torturers in an adjacent room this small women lunged for an available weapon placed there by a negligent trooper, however to say she knew where the safety latch was and moved it to the fire position and then shot at the troops is ridiculous beyond the pale. 5) She did not murder or wound any of her torturers and was quickly disarmed, according to other witnesses she was shot in the stomach while unarmed, 6) Again the repair surgery was botched and whilst in a critical condition was flown to the US, again to be kept incommunicado until the fake trial. 7) The reason for the sentence 86 years is to keep this woman incommunicado until she dies which from what I have heard of US prisons cannot be that far away giver her treatment.
VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ