Pakistan: 'Al-Qaeda' woman in Afghan prison, claims activist
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2372718194 Karachi, 28 July (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Before she reached the age of 30, Aafia Siddiqui achieved more than most Pakistani women could ever imagine. Siddiqui, born in 1972, obtained a biology degree in the United States and later a doctorate in neurological science. She was married with three children and led a comfortable life. But she disappeared in 2003 after returning to Pakistan and then added to the list of most dangerous al-Qaeda suspects compiled by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2004. While the FBI is still "seeking information" about Siddiqui's whereabouts, others claim she is the only female prisoner, 'Prisoner 650', being held at the US detention centre at Bagram, 60 kilometres from Kabul. British journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was captured by the Taliban and later converted to Islam, visited Pakistan recently and called on the international community to work for the release of Aafia whom she calls a "grey lady". Siddiqui was also included in a list published by Amnesty International in June 2007 as someone for whom there was "evidence of secret detention by the United States and whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown". Several former prisoners including British Muslim Moazzam Begg, who was held at Bagram before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and later released, and some Arab detainees tell the story of prisoner number 650, the only woman at Bagram. Their accounts claim that the detained woman cries all the time and appears to have lost her sanity. "We have only indications on which we can claim that she is no other person but Aafia Siddiqui," retired Squadron leader and head of the Defence of Human Rights organisation Khalid Khawaja told Adnkronos International (AKI). "She left her home to go to the airport from her Karachi residence," he told AKI. "It appears that she was picked up somewhere going to the airport. I tried to contact her mother but she refused to talk and later she also disappeared." "Siddiqui disappeared with her three children. Neither her or her children's whereabouts have been known for the last five years." Khawaja works for the cause of missing people, including those detained by security agencies allegedly without charges or trial. Khawaja himself was imprisoned for several months last year, including a period when the government said that it had no idea where he was. He was a senior official of the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI when they were fueling jihadi resistance movements against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and after being forced to retire he went to Afghanistan and fought along side with Osama bin Laden. Khawaja said Pakistani authorities had confirmed that she was initially arrested by security agencies and then the Pakistan's Interior Minister Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat said she was in Pakistan's custody and would be released soon. "Like many other prisoners, Aafia also seems to have been transferred to the FBI who would have taken her to Bagram Airbase jail for further interrogation," Khalid Khawaja said. AKI tried to reach Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat by telephone but received no response. "The government does not want to discuss this matter because they have handed over dozens of people to the US in violation of rules," he said. "That is why when the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry tried to summon the intelligence chiefs and ask them to clarify their position concerning missing people, he was sacked." Pakistan's Foreign Office has denied knowledge of the alleged detention of a Pakistani woman. But the FBI's website says it is seeking information about Siddiqui. "Although the FBI has no information indicating this individual is connected to specific terrorist activities, the FBI would like to locate and question this individual," it said. In May 2004 the FBI named the woman among seven dangerous al-Qaeda suspects accused of plotting attacks. (F)AIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. "Fair Use" legally eliminates the need to obtain permission or pay royalties for the use of previously copyrighted materials if the purposes of display include "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." Section 107 establishes four criteria for determining whether the use of a work in any particular case qualifies as a "fair use". A work used does not necessarily have to satisfy all four criteria to qualify as an instance of "fair use". Rather, "fair use" is determined by the overall extent to which the cited work does or does not substantially satisfy the criteria in their totality. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. COPYING AND DISSEMINATION IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
