AOPP expresses anger on bail of all accused in Nabeel's murder case
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk Report

NEW JERSEY (US): The Association of Pakistani Professionals and the friends of Nabeel Siddiqui have expressed their concern and outrage at the information received that all the accused apprehended during Nabeel’s trial are free on bail and that his family was not even informed by the Essex County Prosecutor’s office that the defendants are out on the street again. This came to light when one of the defendants failed to show up for his arraignment on September 8th prompting the court to issue an arrest warrant.

Nabeel Siddiqui, a Pakistani computer science major who graduated from NJIT last summer, died October 6, 2003 at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's University Hospital in Newark following an assault Saturday, September 27, 2003. Siddiqui was attacked on Haxtun Avenue in Orange, NJ, while delivering a pizza to an address there. According to the police report, the resident of that address was not home at the time of the attack and later told police no one there had ordered a pizza.

Nabeel suffered brutal neurological injuries and trauma which caused severe damage to different parts of his brain. Police report said that Nabeel was conscious when an emergency medical service crew arrived and told police his assailants had struck him in the head with a baseball bat, and then drove off in his 1995 silver Nissan. The vehicle was recovered later on Hamilton Avenue in South Orange. His wallet, containing credit cards, $30, and his NJIT I.D. card, were also found.

The alleged juvenile defendants were initially charged with aggravated assault, robbery, weapons offenses, carjacking and conspiracy. However when the victim expired, these defendants were also charged with felony murder.

"Our dear friend Nabeel Siddiqui was brutally robbed and murdered about a year ago in Orange, New Jersey. The perpetrators of the crime were apprehended and initially charged with aggravated assault, robbery, weapons offenses, carjacking and conspiracy and felony murder. Subsequently cleared to be tried as adults, it was our understanding that the accused are in custody and we are extremely disappointed to find out that this is not the case," said a press statement from Syed Asif Alam, chief of Association of Professional Pakistanis (AOPP).

The press release added, "it is regrettable that the Essex County’s prosecutor’s office failed to notify Nabeel’s family about the defendants being out on bail. It is even more regrettable that people accused of the extremely serious crimes listed above can be released to roam the streets again." It further said, "We implore the State of New Jersey and Essex County’s prosecutor’s office to please treat these serious crimes in a serious manner. Any thing else will not bring justice to those how deserve it and will not bring peace to those affected by Nabeel’s untimely death."

Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP), a US based think-tank, has setup a website at http://aopp.org/nabeel.htm for the friends and family to keep them up to date with the case.●