Dear Warden Carr,
I am writing to you today as the warden of Federal Medical Centre Carswell. As a correctional facility, FMC Carswell must hold itself to the highest standards as it carries the mantle of American freedom and justice.
Since March, 2020, inmates at Carswell have been deprived of any form of contact with their family and loved ones and this takes a devastating toll on their mental and physical wellbeing.
Dr Aafia Siddiqui (prison number 90279-054) has endured this deprivation of contact for over three years, long before the challenges of Covid-19. Correspondence addressed to her is returned ‘refused’, or ‘receiver not found’.
Dr Aafia’s mother is frail and suffers with ill health, bearing the additional anxiety of not being able to speak to her daughter, not even in a video call. Their last communication was in 2016.
Dr Aafia suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but in her 13 year confinement at Carswell, she has not received any medical treatment at the facility. For the last 17 years, she has also been deprived of contact with her children, both of whom were themselves victims of torture and violence.
I urge you as warden, having the authority to facilitate communication between inmates and the outside world, to open up the channels of communication to her family and legal representatives.
I thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
