Dr Aafia sexually assaulted in US prison, reveals lawyer

Pakistani neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is languishing in a US prison, was subjected to sexual abuse at least twice during her incarceration, her lawyer Clive Stafford Smith revealed in an interview to a private TV channel.

He said that the Pakistani government was aware of the assault on his client. He disclosed that he filed a complaint with the US authorities after Dr Aafia revealed her ordeal to him.

The counsel said that Dr Aafia was also sexually assaulted in Bagram prison as an interrogation tactic. Furthermore, he claimed that Dr Aafia is abused and tortured almost daily.

On Sunday, Dr Aafia's sister Dr Fauzia Siddiqui was allowed to meet her in a US jail. In a video statement following the meeting, Dr Fauzia expressed her deep concern about Aafia's deteriorating health condition in prison, saying she was at a loss for words to describe it.

In 2010, Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who had studied in the US, was found guilty of attempted murder and assault by a New York federal district court and sentenced to 86 years in prison.

These charges arose from an interrogation by the US authorities in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Siddiqui denied all allegations against her.

At the age of 18, Siddiqui went to the US for higher education and earned a PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University.

According to media reports, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 brought Siddiqui to the attention of the FBI due to her alleged financial contributions to proscribed organizations.

She was allegedly linked to the acquisition of $10,000 worth of night-vision goggles and military manuals.

American authorities suspected Siddiqui's affiliation with a banned militant outfit during her time in the US.

She disappeared in around 2003, along with her three children, in Karachi. Five years later she turned up in Pakistan's war-torn neighbor Afghanistan, where she was arrested by local forces in Ghazni.