In Search of Prisoner 650

AN exclusive Press TV interview with a former Guantanamo detainee sheds new light on the baffling case of Dr Aafiya Siddiqui … a mother-of-three who mysteriously disappeared with her children six years ago.

Torture victim Binyam Mohamed says he is “100 per cent convinced” that he saw Aafiya during the time he was held by the US in Bagram, Afghanistan at the height of George W Bush’s War on Terror.

He made the statement after watching a special preview of the documentary film In Search of Prisoner 650 which premieres on Press TV on Sunday, April 5.

His testimony contradicts the official position forwarded by the US Government t hat she and her children were not in US custody prior to July 2008.

Press TV viewers will be able to watch that exclusive testimony in full on Thursday, April 2 during The Agenda show which this week focuses on the mystery of where America keeps its female prisoners from the now discredited Bush War on Terror.

On hearing of Binyam’s interview, Pakistan political leader Imran Khan called on the new US Administration to honour its pledge and commitment to transparency and reveal the truth about Dr Aafiya Siddiqui's arrest and detention during her missing years. He also called upon the Pakistan Government to reveal its full role in her disappearance. 

The Tehreek-e-Insaf party leader said: "There is a new administration in Washington now, one which we were told had a full desire for transparency - it was very much part of Barack Obama's election pledge. In the spirit of this new era, I also want to know the extent of Pakistan's co-operation in the involvement of Prisoner 650 and Dr Aafiya Siddiqui, especially if they now appear to be one in the same.

"And once more I am calling for information on the full extent of the innocent victims caught up in this scandal of the Disappeared, especially with regards to sisters who are referred to as female enemy combatants including prisoner 650.  

"In addition, it is time the US went on record and revealed exactly how many female enemy combatants the US has in its custody and exactly where they are and from which countries. 

"Justice has a new meaning and significance in Pakistan these days, and all that we ask is that these female detainees and others be allowed to prove their innocence in a court of law. This is in no way protecting terrorists or those who carry out acts of terrorism."

Lord Nazir Ahmed who has also campaigned for justice in the Aafiya Siddiqui case, called a media20conference in the House of Lords in London on Tuesday, March 31 on hearing of the Press TV interview.

The British peer is now demanding the immediate return to Pakistan of the mother-of-three and urged the Pakistan government to directly intervene with the US to bring about a swift repatriation.

Asim Qureshi from the international human rights organisation Cage Prisoners who was also at the House of Lords meeting said: "With evidence continually mounting to suggest Aafiya was abducted from Karachi in March 2003, the regurgitation of the same lies cannot be allowed to continue, especially in light of her prosecution in the US."

Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg who also spent time in Bagram detention facility praised Binyam Mohamed for coming forward to make his statement. Begg said: "After my release I discovered females were indeed held by US forces in Bagram and elsewhere. One of them is Aafiya Siddiqui. Our suspicions were confirmed when  Binyam Mohamed told Cageprisoners during an exclusive interview that he had seen her whilst he was held in Bagram.

"It is time the US military faced up to what they have done to this poor woman and her children."

In a statement released in Islamabad Imran Khan added: "It is obvious that Binyam Mohamed's personal eye witness account of the woman he saw during his own incarceration in Bagram should be taken seriously. He says he is "100 percent certain" that the woman detainee he knew as Prisoner 650 is Dr Aafiya Siddiqui. He drew this conclusion after seeing photographs and images of Dr Siddiqui during a private screening of Yvonne Ridley's documentary In Search of Prisoner 650.

Binyam Mohamed is a man who has endured horrific torture in Pakistan, Morocco and in Bagram - and yet despite enormous pressure from the US, he has continually refused to lie or give false accounts, even in exchange for his freedom. We know this to be true because of the recent release of secret documents from the British High Court.

Therefore, I think it is fair to say, that the word of  Binyam Mohamed can be trusted over that of the Bush  Administration which has been exposed continually for its lies and deceptions which became its hallmark during its War on Terror”. 

The film  In Search of Prisoner 650 charts an investigation launched by journalist and Press TV presenter Yvonne Ridley into the intriguing case of a woman prisoner held in Bagram detention centre.

Ridley’s investigation opens in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba then moves to the UK before going off to Pakistan and Afghanistan on a journey of discovery which nearly proved fatal.

She said: “During the making of this documentary film-maker Hassan al Banna Ghani and myself took several risks including a hazardous drive through Taliban-controlled country on our way to Ghazni.

“We got caught up in crossfire between Taliban fighters and Afghan police, and the camera never stopped r olling. It was a hair-raising experience which took us right to the gates of Bagram.

“We accrued some powerful evidence and statements during the journey which frankly puts a huge question mark over the official  US version of the Dr Aafiya Siddiqui story.
 “And now Binyam’s own statement which will go out on The Agenda this Thursday makes it increasingly difficult for the US to continue to deny Dr Aafiya was ever held in Bagram.

“Press TV viewers will draw their own conclusions, I’m sure,” added Ridley.

* The documentary film In Search of Prisoner 650 is broadcast several times throughout Sunday, April 5 with the second part going out on Monday, April 6. See Press TV schedules for full details at www.presstv.com

The Agenda show is first broadcast on Thursday with several repeats and full details are outlined in the programme schedule.