June 8, 2013


FORT WORTH: Last week, Dr. Aafia Siidiqui who is detained at Carswell Prison at a US Military base in Fort Worth, United States, was physically assaulted in her prison cell and left bleeding and unconscious. She eventually received medical care after two days due to the intervention of her lawyer, Ms. Tina Foster. Foster visited Siddiqui within days of the incident and the Pakistani neuroscientist is now in a better condition. The Pakistani consulate in Texas has also reportedly sent a high level team to visit Dr. Aafia.

Aafia has still not been able to visit family members with the last family visit being over a year ago.

According to the Aafia Movement, the latest "incident" underscores the need for medical treatment of Dr. Aafia independent of the US prison system. It also further highlights the urgent need for her repatriation to Pakistan where she may serve out her sentence and the governments can avoid the diplomatic problems that arise from incidents of this type.

Authorities at Carswell prison claim they are conducting an "internal investigation into the incident". However, based on previous experiences it is expected that the findings will likely remain secret.



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