There is much support for a petition calling for Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s release. [Picture: Declan Walsh/Collect]
More than a million people have petitioned to U.S. President Joe Biden that he releases Dr Aafia Siddiqui. They want him to grant the Pakistani neuroscientist clemency before his term ends.
Initiated by ‘Friends of Aafia Siddiqui’, the petition on change.org garnered 1.2 million signatures by Monday, just a week before Donald Trump took over the White House.
Siddiqui was convicted on charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in February 2010. Since then, she has been serving an 86-years-long sentence at FMC Carswell in Texas, U.S.
Sexual abuse, rape and neglect are some of the injustices petitioners claim Siddiqui has had to endure. She was also denied religious support, the petition adds.
“We urge you, President Biden, to exercise compassion and grant clemency to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. As someone who has experienced the profound personal loss of two children, we believe you can understand the unbearable pain that she has endured, both as a mother separated from her children and as a victim of severe abuse. It is time to bring an end to this injustice,” it reads.
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Outpour of support
The case has generated widespread sympathy among those who believe Siddiqui was wrongly convicted and sentenced. The comments section below the petition is filled with a chorus of voices demanding her release.
Many petitioners also took the time to record and upload video clips in which they expressed sympathy for her cause.
“I just learnt about Aafia Siddiqui this evening and I am completely horrified that my government is abusing this brilliant, gifted woman in such an inhuman way, and I hope that justice will prevail and she will be [released],” one said.
In the comments, a petitioner identified by their first name as “Kate”, questioned why “America’s core values” of “justice, freedom and equality” were not applied fairly.
“Why is it that these values only apply to some and is (sic) disregarded for others? If these really are America’s core values then why is it that an innocent person being tortured, both mentally and psychically, in unimaginable ways is okay?”
“It would be fundamentally wrong to do so to a person imprisoned due to a biased and discriminatory trial. Free Dr Aafia. Free her for her family. Free her for justice. Free her for the future of our world,” they added.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith tweeted that he and Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, Aafia’s sister, were on their way to Washington D.C. “for the last push on Aafia’s clemency”.
Listen to @FowziaSiddiqui talking about our plans for this week – we are on a plane headed for DC for the last push on Aafia’s clemency. Keep the support coming for it! Thanks! @Aafiamovement https://t.co/GeefbTyr3e
— Clive Stafford Smith (@CliveSSmith) January 12, 2025
