Aafia's family dissatisfied with legal experts

ISLAMABAD Pakistani embassy in the US has hired incapable legal experts to follow the case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, while Aafia and members of her family have conveyed their concerns to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in this regard, TheNation has learnt reliably.
The legal experts including Charles Swift, Linda Marino and Elaine Sharp remained silent in the court over roughly manhandling of Dr. Aafia on November 3, 2009, Saima and Kausar, two eyewitnesses in the court, informed TheNation on Wednesday.
According to the sources, the lawyers were only interested in getting hefty money amounting to $ 2 million being paid by the Government of Pakistan to them.
They informed despite reservations from Dr. Aafia, Pak Ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani made this odd selection. The main task of these legal experts is to assist the US-appointed legal experts Dawn Cardi and Chad Edgar for the release of Dr. Aafia from the US prison, which is amazing, the sources added. Several times Dr. Aafia requested to the government for their removal but she got cold shoulder in this regard, they maintained.
Dr. Fouzia, sister of Dr. Afia, when contacted confirmed that her family members were not satisfied with the government-hired legal experts team.
To a query, Dr. Fouzia said, The Foreign Office and Pakistani Embassy in the US are telling lie, as neither strip search nor naked videotaping has been stopped. Aafia remained isolated from everyone, She said, adding that Pak Embassy did not take her family into confidence over selection of legal experts. Without consulting us these lawyers have been assigned task to contest Aafias case, she regretted.
She said official lawyers were not doing their job accordingly for the release of her sister. They were not even ready to talk to Aafias family members in the pretext that they were only answerable to Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, she said.
Fouzia said when she and her family members tried to enquire about the criminal silence of the official lawyers, they simply replied, We will not talk to you as we are hired by Ambassador Haqqani.
We are not supporting selection of such a strange lawyers who are burden on national exchequer. My sister has also rejected this selection of the government and refused to take any financial assistance from public money, Fouzia said.
It is worth mentioning here that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has raised the issue of Dr. Aafia before US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton during her recent visit to Pakistan but he could not convince her for early release of Aafia.
Our Special Correspondent from New York adds: After a couple of postponements, Aafia Sidiquis trial on charges of attempting to kill American security officials in Afghanistan last year, is now scheduled to take place here in the US District Court on January 19.
In preparation of the trial, Judge Richard Berman held a session at which he set aside Ms Siddiquis objections to the legal defence team appointed for her by the Pakistan government, saying she would have to be represented by the lawyers who have already been approved by the court.
Ms Siddiqui, who was declared mentally fit to stand trial in September, argued before Judge Berman on Tuesday that she does not need the three lawyers to defend her, saying she wanted to make peace and knew how to do it.
She made that plea at what is called Status Conference which is held to clear the decks for a trial. The session involved Judge Berman, Ms Siddiqui, her defence team and the prosecutors.
The lawyers, retained by the government of Pakistan, are: Ms Linda Moreno, Ms Elaine Sharp and Charles Swift. They were cleared by the court on September 2.
The judge briefed the conference on his discussions with Ms Siddiqui at a 1-1/2-hour closed-door session in which her lawyers were also present.
He also said Ms Siddiqui expressed her outrage at the humiliating strip search she has to undergo before coming to the court.
Reacting to her protest, the judge said he had ordered the prison authorities to find a way so that she does not have to go through the tough procedure.
While the judge said it was necessary for her to be in the court, she could participate through video-conference if the body search requirement could not be relaxed.