Aafia Siddiqui refuses to appear in court in protest
September 05, 2008
* Lawyer says Siddiqui strip searched every time she is visited
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: Dr Aafia Siddiqui refused to appear in a New York court on Thursday in protest against the humiliating treatment to which she is being subjected and because of her traumatised physical, mental and emotional condition.
The next date of hearing at which she would be charged for attempted
murder is September 22. Her lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, gave Judge Richard M
Breman of the US district court for the southern district of New York, a
harrowing description of her client's physical and mental condition,
while urging that Siddiqui be immediately shifted to a hospital. She
said her present condition was not such as to make her competent to
stand trial. She said her client had spent years in confinement and she
was deeply worried about her three children.
Strip search: Fink gave the court a chilling description of the strip
searches that Siddiqui is being made to endure every time she is
visited, even by her lawyer. She refused to appear in court because she
did not want to be subjected to the torture and humiliation of another
strip search. Fink explained in graphic detail what a strip search
involved. She said her client was made to take off all her clothes and
stand with her legs apart. She was subjected to an anal examination and
ordered to bend over and cough to ensure that she was not hiding
anything. Fink said Siddiqui not only needed to be immediately
hospitalised but she needed a gynaecologist and she required a
psychiatric evaluation. The judge does not have the power to stop the
strip search because it is part of prison regulations. The
Pakistani-Americans present at the hearing, including Pakistan Consulate
officials, were shocked at the description provided by Siddiqui's lawyer
and told journalists that they felt utterly disgusted and angered by
what they had heard.
Url:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\05\story_5-9-2008_pg7_48
|