Aafia Siddiqui was raped in prison as punishment, says her lawyer

Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist serving an 86-year sentence in a U.S. prison, was sexually abused and otherwise mistreated while in custody, her lawyer said.

Siddiqui, a 49-year-old mother of three, was convicted in 2010 of attempting to murder U.S. soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan.

Her conviction and harsh sentence were controversial. Many in Pakistan view her as a victim of the US criminal justice system.

Clive Stafford Smith, a human rights lawyer representing Siddiqui, has made shocking allegations about her treatment at the Federal Medical Center in Carswell, Texas.

He stated that Siddiqui had been “raped” by prison guards at least twice and had experienced countless other cases of abuse by guards and other inmates.

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As an American, Smith expressed her shame at Siddiqui’s treatment by the U.S. prison system, describing it as “pretty unspeakable in terms of sexual abuse.”

He said Siddiqui’s complaints were “extreme” and “true” and that she had faced the “harshest” treatment of any woman in the entire federal prison system.

Siddiqui’s case continues to attract attention and outrage in Pakistan, where the governments of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif have made efforts to secure her release.

Her lawyer says he has informed the Pakistani government about the abuse allegations and it is the government’s duty to protect her.