Tag: Aafia Siddiqui

In its mission to challenge the prison systems that are putting prisoners and surrounding communities and ecosystems at risk of dangerous environmental conditions, the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons is taking its second annual convergence to Texas this year. In Denton and Ft. Worth on June 2-5, the gathering of activists from around the country will feature speakers, panels, workshops, protests and cultural activities, including an art show and hip-hop performances.

Hundreds of Siddiqui’s supporters met the two at the airport in the wee hours of the morning, carrying flowers, signs and banners, and chanting “Free Aafia!” and “Welcome!” Siddiqui is a Pakistani political prisoner who has been held in solitary confinement for years in U.S. prisons, after being abducted from Pakistan with her three young children.

An M.I.T. undergraduate and Brandeis Ph.D. who spent her time researching ways to improve child behavior, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was recently found guilty in New York City of coming from behind a curtain that hid her, stealing a U.S. soldier’s M-4 rifle, and firing the rifle at but missing and then assaulting a U.S. military team.