Daily Times

The State Department has stated that the prisoners in US are dealt with according to the international laws.

“Treatment meted out to convicted criminals in US is always in line with the international laws. The conduct of US officials and prison-keepers with the prisoners is completely in accordance with the constitution as well as the laws of the United States,” Heather Nauert, spokesperson of the State Department, said.

The spokesperson confirmed that Pakistan had contacted them over alleged mistreatment of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is imprisoned at Texas’ Federal Medical Center, Carswell. “We have received Pakistan’s message regarding (mis) treatment of Dr Siddiqui in jail,” she said.

Prior to this, a State Department spokesperson had said the matter of alleged mistreatment of Dr Aafia had been taken up with the relevant officials.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office had contacted the United States Department of State over alleged mistreatment of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist imprisoned in the Texas prison.

On June 7, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had summoned a report from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington on Dr Aafia, after a three-member bench led by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a petition filed by the imprisoned scientist’s sister, Dr Fouzia.

The alleged misbehaviour – including physical and sexual abuse – against Dr Aafia was brought to light a few days back when a confidential report was submitted before the Supreme Court. In the shocking report, the official had confirmed that the jail staff was not treating Siddiqui properly and that she was in a state of fear.

According to the findings, Dr Aafia alleged that her case supervisor and two others attempted to rape her in February, recommending that diplomatic authorities take up the case at the highest levels to find a way for repatriation of the prisoner to Pakistan so that she could serve her remaining sentence in the country.

It was also recommended that a detailed note be sent to the US Department of Justice for an inquiry into the allegations of physical and sexual abuse and to bar entry of certain male staff members into her unit and to ensure her safety, modesty and dignity as a woman.

Dr Aafia Siddiqui was indicted by a New York federal district court in September 2008 on charges of attempted murder and assault, stemming from an incident during an interview with the US authorities in Ghazni, Afghanistan – charges that she denied. After 18 months in detention, she was tried and convicted in early 2010 and sentenced to 86 years in prison.

Published in Daily Times, June 24^th 2018.