Under Afghan and international law, Ahmed Siddiqui is too young to be treated as a criminal suspect. 
Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism program director at Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch urges Afghanistan to free Dr Aafia's son
* Rights group says 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui in NDS custody
WASHINGTON: Global rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged Afghan officials to free the son of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently awaiting trial in the United States on charges of trying to kill US officials.
"The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family," said the HRW in a statement. The boy, reportedly one of Dr Aafia's sons, was with the 36-year-old scientist when she was arrested in the central Afghan town of Ghazni on July 17. Afghan police said they believed Dr Aafia was planning a suicide attack.
Dr Aafia, whose name is on a 2004 US list of suspects with links to Al Qaeda, was flown to the US where she is currently in custody, accused of attempting to murder US officials sent to question her after her arrest by the Afghan police.
NDS: According to the HRW, Ahmed Siddiqui, a US citizen, was "briefly held by Afghanistan's Interior Ministry and then transferred to the custody of the Afghan National Security Directorate (NDS), the country's intelligence agency" after he was detained with his mother. "His current whereabouts are unknown. The NDS is notorious for its brutal treatment of detainees," said the HRW.
Under Afghan and international law, an 11-year-old boy is "too young to be considered criminally responsible for his mother's alleged acts", said the HRW, and called for the boy to be released to a child welfare agency or to relatives in Pakistan as soon as possible.
Last week, Pakistani lawmakers passed a resolution demanding Dr Aafia's repatriation and news of the whereabouts of her three children, who went missing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained scientist when she disappeared from Karachi in 2003. Her arrest was the first time in five years that she had been seen publicly and her family and lawyers allege she had been held captive since disappearing - possibly in a secret US or allied prison. US officials have denied the charge. afp
WASHINGTON: Global rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged Afghan officials to free the son of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently awaiting trial in the United States on charges of trying to kill US officials.
"The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family," said the HRW in a statement. The boy, reportedly one of Dr Aafia's sons, was with the 36-year-old scientist when she was arrested in the central Afghan town of Ghazni on July 17. Afghan police said they believed Dr Aafia was planning a suicide attack.
Dr Aafia, whose name is on a 2004 US list of suspects with links to Al Qaeda, was flown to the US where she is currently in custody, accused of attempting to murder US officials sent to question her after her arrest by the Afghan police.
NDS: According to the HRW, Ahmed Siddiqui, a US citizen, was "briefly held by Afghanistan's Interior Ministry and then transferred to the custody of the Afghan National Security Directorate (NDS), the country's intelligence agency" after he was detained with his mother. "His current whereabouts are unknown. The NDS is notorious for its brutal treatment of detainees," said the HRW.
Under Afghan and international law, an 11-year-old boy is "too young to be considered criminally responsible for his mother's alleged acts", said the HRW, and called for the boy to be released to a child welfare agency or to relatives in Pakistan as soon as possible.
Last week, Pakistani lawmakers passed a resolution demanding Dr Aafia's repatriation and news of the whereabouts of her three children, who went missing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained scientist when she disappeared from Karachi in 2003. Her arrest was the first time in five years that she had been seen publicly and her family and lawyers allege she had been held captive since disappearing - possibly in a secret US or allied prison. US officials have denied the charge. afp
Afghanistan: Free Aafia Siddiqui's 11-Year-Old Son
Child Is Too Young to Be Treated as Criminal Suspect
The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family, Human Rights Watch said today. Siddiqui, a US citizen, is believed to be the son of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman held on US federal charges in New York.
August 27, 2008 Press Release
Printer friendly version
Child Is Too Young to Be Treated as Criminal Suspect
The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family, Human Rights Watch said today. Siddiqui, a US citizen, is believed to be the son of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman held on US federal charges in New York.
August 27, 2008 Press Release
Printer friendly version
... hand the child over to Dr. Aafia's family very soon," Spanta told ... based Human Rights Watch this week urged the Afghan government to free the child, ...
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