Texas – After a 20-year-long battle, the reunion between two sisters, Dr Aafia Siddiqui and Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, has finally taken place in the United States. This emotional and heartwarming event marks a significant milestone in the ongoing struggle for Aafia’s freedom. The reunion, although limited by physical barriers, signifies a ray of hope amidst a relentless campaign for justice.
The journey leading up to this reunion has been fraught with challenges and hardships. Aafia’s disappearance and subsequent captivity for the first five years left her family in a state of uncertainty and anguish. However, in 2008, she resurfaced under suspicious circumstances, having been shot by an American soldier in Afghanistan. She was then brought back to the United States and subjected to a trial that many deemed unfair.
Even when granted permission to see her sister, Siddiqui did not have an easy time at Federal Medical Centre, Carswell (FMC Carswell) where Aafia is being held. Siddiqui and Clive Stafford Smith, British attorney to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, encountered various restrictions, one of which prevented the sisters from having a physical contact visit.
“The fact that they hadn’t seen each other was really something and I’m very pleased to have been able to help get them together. When we got there two days ago, the prison, it’s called Federal Medical Centre but it’s not really that. It’s a maximum-security prison. An awful place. Unfortunately, under their rules they wouldn’t allow Aafia and Fowzia to have a hug even. So, the sisters have not touched, and can you imagine that after 20 years we had to do the visit through glass. That’s better than nothing but it’s pretty inhuman really.”
Despite these limitations, the visit itself was a powerful and emotional moment for everyone involved. Aafiya was unaware that her sister would be visiting her so the first day was a bit of shock, said Smith. While the first two visits were extremely special and impactful, today will be a different day as Siddiqui will have to say her goodbyes once again as her visit comes to an end.
“Today I think it’s going to be immensely difficult. Fowzia after having come all this way … she’s gotta go in with me and basically, say goodbye to her sister for at least a while. I think that is about as awful a thing as you can imagine.”
The role of Carswell authorities
The restrictions imposed by the Carswell authorities have raised questions about their decision-making process. During his extensive visits to American prisons, Smith has encountered numerous nonsensical rules, often serving more as a means of control rather than enhancing security.
“I’ve been to hundreds of American prisons and the rules are pretty ridiculous. I’ve been to Guantanamo Bay 42 times and their rules were absurd. The idea that this frail woman is a threat to anyone is just stupid. The idea that we’re any threat to the security of the prison is just absurd. They have all these things they do at Carswell which I’ve never seen before which include, as we’re walking through to go to the visitation room, they clear all the prisoners out of the way. Why? I have visited prisons for over 40 years now, and no one’s ever done any harm to me and I’ve never done any harm to them. So they’re just crazy rules but it’s all part of the control process.”
According to Smith, these rules are designed to strip individuals of their autonomy and turn them into compliant automatons. The goal is to erode their sense of self, making them more pliable and easier to control. By understanding these tactics, we can recognise the importance of preserving individuality and personal agency.
Guantanamo Bay vs. FMC Carswell
Reflecting on his extensive and numerous visits to Guantanamo Bay, Smith acknowledged that while all prisons are inherently dehumanising, he would have preferred for Aafia to be held at Guantanamo Bay due to its more transparent political nature. FMC Carswell, on the other hand, disguises itself as a facility that affords fair treatment but fails to address the profound issues within.
“She’s in this prison that is really awful. One of the things that has really shocked me, I was concerned with some of the statements that Aafia had made about some of the assaults that are going on. We know some of them. She’s missing her front teeth, she can’t really hear out of her right ear because she’s been hit in the head. She’s got palsy of the right cheek. Meaning that there’s some sort of brain damage that’s happened to her in the assaults on her. She also talks about the hostile, sexually threatening environment in Carswell and I wasn’t sure what to make of that.”
According to a reporter Smith met, there have been 35 reported cases of the guards sexually assaulting the female prisoners in Carswell recently. Some of the guards have been convicted of criminal offences. After his last visit Smith contacted the prison to get Aafiya moved into a single cell, which he happily reported that they did.
SMread: After 20 years, Siddiqui sisters meet in a heart-wrenching encounter
A visit to brighten up Aafia’s spirits
Despite the difficulties in obtaining proper visits due to stringent regulations, this reunion had a profoundly positive impact on Afia’s emotional well-being. The alternating feelings of despair and happiness during their conversations demonstrated the profound significance of familial connection and support.
“She alternates, she oscillates between the depths of despair in what she’s going through and then that smile lights up her face when she’s talking to Fowzia. They sang some silly little thing yesterday that was about Shirley Temple, the girl with curls or something. They used to sing it in the playground. At that point Aafia’s face lights up in a smile but then when that instant dies, so does her smile. I was watching her expression, and that smile that had lit up her eyes and her face slowly descended into the depths of despair. It’s really, really hard.”
Siddiqui has been given a five-year US visa and Smith hopes the prison will be accommodating and allow her to see her sister as she has done and not through a computer screen. While this carries on, the fight to bring Aafiya home has not stopped and he believes this is the first step in getting Aafiya reunited with her family.
Clive Stafford Smith and El-Hajj Mauri Salaakhan engaged in a dialogue that shed light on the remarkable work undertaken by Fowzia Siddiqui, the role of Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan in Aafia Siddiqui’s case, and the crucial steps that Pakistan must take to secure the freedom of Aafia Siddiqui. Listen to that discussion here:
