US protesters remember Afia Siddiqui on her arrest’s 15th anniversary

Washington DC: A handful of protestors gathered outside the Pakistani Embassy in Washington D.C. earlier this week to mark AafiaSiddiqui’s 15th year anniversary in a U.S prison. Braving freezing weather conditions, the supporters called on the Pakistan government to facilitate Siddiqui’s repatriation to Pakistan. As embassy staff left work for the day, they were met by supporters chanting ‘Free Aafia’. The peaceful protest did not prompt any reaction from the staff or the local police who sat in a car monitoring the event. In 2010, Dr Siddiqui, a U.S educated Pakistani neuroscientist, was sentenced to 86 years in prison by a US court after she had been convicted of seven counts of the attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan, while being interrogated by U.S. officials for affiliations with al-Qaida Prosecutors alleged she grabbed a rifle and opened fire, shouting ‘death to Americans’. At the time, US officials said she was an al-Qaeda sympathiser and pushed for life imprisonment. However, her family and supporters rejected the accusations and say that these were a cover-up, adding that Siddiqui has been a US prisoner since her disappearance in Karachi in 2003. Siddiqui was one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists. Her sentence had prompted outrage and protests across Pakistan as supporters took to the streets chanting anti-American slogans and lighting fires. They branded her imprisonment a crime against humanity. Protests were held in the US, too, where around 100 supporters appeared at demonstrations in various states across the country. In contrast, the turnout for supporters at protest held to mark the 15th anniversary of her arrest was low. Speaking to Daily Times before the protest, a U.S. based Pakistani journalist had predicted ‘only a few people will turn up’. He explained, “the fervour surrounding Siddiqui’s incarceration dissipated over the past few years, people don’t really care anymore and have moved on.” Despite the media’s lack of interest and public support, MauriSaalakhan, organiser of the event and the director of operations for The Aafia Foundation, said, “We will not allow her to be forgotten.” He called on the U.S. government to ‘grant her medical care, and communication with her family’ that he said ‘is being denied’. HenaZuberi, a human rights activist attending the protest with her son, acknowledged the decline in interest amongst the U.S. Pakistani expat community for Siddiqui. She said, “the tide has changed in the past couple of years – even the elder generation who strongly supported her have given up.” She continued to explain, “people are more concerned with Hijabs being ripped off a girls’ head – and I’m not saying that’s not also important – but they are not as concerned about someone being assaulted in prison.” She explained, “younger American Muslims are also experiencing far more challenges now in their communities than in 2010.” Steven Downs, executive director of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, believes lack of support for Siddiqui in the U.S. Muslim community stems from a pervasive fear amongst the US Muslim community; their treatment by the Trump administration and law enforcement. He explains that under Trump, Muslims have experienced travel bans, a spike in hate crimes, and increasing anti-Muslim rhetoric by the president. “Muslims, are afraid to support causes like Dr Siddiqui; they are concerned about repercussions in their communities and families from the American public and law enforcement.” He added, “there is also the consensus that if the Pakistan government is no longer helping her, then what is the point?” However, Faisal Khan, a Pakistani-American student, doesn’t believe the ‘fear factor’ is a reason that keeps the younger generation away from Siddiqui’s protest. “There are other political prisoners to fight for with more compelling circumstances surrounding their imprisonment,” he said. At the time of Siddiqui’s hearing; mindful of public opinion, Pakistan’s government paid $2m for a US defence team and publicly appealed to Washington D.C. to release Siddiqui or have her repatriated. However, when questioned recently about Siddiqui’s case, an official at the Pakistani embassy, Washington D.C. said: “the Pakistan embassy has not released any official statements to mark Dr Siddiqi’s anniversary, or has a position on her detention.” According to a recent Gallup poll: in the U.S., on average one-half of nationally representative samples of different faiths agree that most Americans are prejudiced towards Muslim Americans; 66% of Jewish Americans and 60% of Muslim Americans think Americans are prejudiced toward Muslim Americans. And Muslims Americans (48%) were twice as likely to experience racial or religious discrimination in the past year compared to other faiths.  Published in Daily Times, March 15th 2018.