KABUL (SW) – Clive Adrian Stafford Smith, the defense attorney for Afiya Sediqi, a Pakistani scholar in solitary confinement for the past 14 years, told Salam Watandar that she has been subjected to “violence and torture” in prison.
He has come to Afghanistan to gather evidence for Afiya’s innocence.
Smith added, “Three weeks ago, I met with my client [Afiya Sediqi], and I will meet with her again in two weeks in prison. Afiya Sediqi is the only prisoner who has been held in solitary confinement for 14 years and is said to be in poor condition. Her deteriorating state is due to the torture and harassment inflicted upon her in prison.”
The defense attorney for Afiya Sediqi says he is currently trying to gather evidence from Afghanistan to prove her innocence and then plans to urge United States authorities including President Joe Biden to cooperate in her case.
These allegations of misconduct in the US – which are against the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a country that houses the United Nations headquarters on its soil – if proven, demonstrate the depths of human rights violations in this large democratic and self-proclaimed human rights defender in the world.
Afiya Sediqi’s defense attorney has promised to demand basic services for her from the US government and to exchange her with Shakil Afridi. “We can exchange Afiya Sediqi with Shakil Afridi, and we demand that the US treat Afiya Sediqi appropriately, allowing her to pray, access medical care, and in some cases, share her problems with the media.”
Afiya Sediqi was born in Pakistan. She migrated to the United States in 1990. Afiya studied cognitive neuroscience in the US and received her doctorate from Brandeis University in 2001. In March 2003, Afiya was listed in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) interrogation list and allegedly abducted from Pakistan by US forces and transferred to Bagram prison near Kabul, Afghanistan.
According to Afiya ‘s defense attorney, she was released from Bagram prison in 2008 and went to Ghazni to find her two young children. There, she was detained by security forces for interrogation under the Republic regime and then detained again by US forces and transferred to Guantanamo prison. This is while US prison guards have previously been criticized for horrific torture of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2010, Afiya Sediqi was sentenced to 86 years in prison after a 14-day trial by a federal judge in New York. It is said that she was convicted by her jury for attempting to murder US citizens and government employees, and for attacking US officers and employees.
The US had previously stated that Afiya Sediqi, a Pakistani female scientist, was not subjected to violence and torture in US prisons.
During the years of US presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, many political prisoners in various US prisons have been subjected to psychological harassment and endured physical torture, which constitutes torture and war crimes; however, no opportunity for independent investigations by international observers regarding them has been provided, and no reports have been published about them.
This is despite the fact that according to Articles 8 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 of the United Nations, the United States is committed to ensuring that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
It is in this manner that the US government has acknowledged “all individuals deprived of their liberty (prisoners) must be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.” However, according to the claims of Afiya Sediqi’s defense attorney, the United States has failed to uphold these human rights provisions regarding her.
Meanwhile, according to the International and Global Competencies, the government of Pakistan, as the sponsoring government of Afiya Sediqi, had and has an obligation to act in defense of its nationals in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other human rights instruments, in securing human rights, fair trial, and monitoring the performance of the US government, directly and through relevant United Nations committees, but unfortunately, no convincing reports appear to have been issued on this matter.
