Reported by: Mahdo CRWE Newswire Middle East correspondent.
Dr Aafia Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan. She is an American-educated Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist.
Dr. Siddiqui was convicted in a US Federal Court of assault, with an aim to assassinate her U.S. interrogators. She is imprisoned In New York and is awaiting a likely sentence of life in prison, which is expected to be announced on September 23, 2010.
The sentiments and feelings of the Pakistani Nation involving Dr. Siddiqui, were expressed by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani when he met with United States Attorney General Eric Holder to plead her case.
Diplomatic sources have said that the Ambassador insisted on a withdrawal of the case against Ms Siddiqui, in which she has been indicted and tried over an attempted attack on US officials in Afghanistan.
According to reporters, the US Attorney General expressed his views and said that he is acquainted with the sentiments of the Pakistani Nation over Dr. Siddiqui’s case and stated that it would be decided in accordance with the relevant US laws. In the meantime, expert source have spoken out, since the jury has already convicted Ms. Siddiqui, the judge can only prescribe sentence from between maximum and minimum federal guidelines.
Aafia Siddiqui was involved with Islamic charities. In March 2003, she disappeared with her three young children in Pakistan, in short after the arrest of her second husband’s uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected chief planner of the September 11 attacks. Then FBI then issued a global “seeking information” alert for Siddiqui.
In May 2004, she was named one of the seven “most wanted” al-Qaeda deserters by the FBI. For more than five years her whereabouts were unknown. She was arrested by the Afghan National Police in July 2008, on suspicion of being a suicide bomber. According to the Afghan police she was carrying in her handbag documents which allegedly described how to create chemical, biological and radiological weapons, and handwritten notes were pointing to a mass casualty attack.
According to a report, she was shot and harshly injured at the police compound after she purportedly grabbed the unattended rifle of one of her American interrogators and began shooting. After that she received medical treatment for her wounds, and then she was flown to the U.S., where she was charged with two counts of attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying a firearm, and three counts of assault on U.S. officials and workers.
After receiving psychological assessments and therapy, the federal judge expressed that she was mentally fit to stand trial, even though there was a rebellious medical opinion. That trial was monitored by Amnesty International in order to evaluate the fairness of the procedures. In February 2010, in Manhattan federal district court she was tried and convicted by judges on all counts and encountered a minimum sentence of 30 years and maximum of life in prison. The probation office has suggested a life sentence, but on the other hand Siddiqui’s lawyers have requested a 12-year sentence, on the basis of the argument that she has been mentally ill, and that she has been the primary victim of her own ridiculous behavior. The sentencing hearing was scheduled for August 16 but it has been postponed until September 23, 2010. The charges against her stemmed exclusively from the shooting, and Siddiqui has not to date been charged with any terrorism-related offenses.
Various Siddiqui’s supporters, including international human rights organizations, have alleged that Siddiqui was not an extremist and that she and her young children were illegitimately apprehended and interrogated at the command of the U.S by Pakistani intelligence during her five year disappearance. According to the Siddiqui’s family she was kidnapped and agonized by U.S. intelligence. While the U.S. and Pakistan governments have denied all such claims.
The Views and Opinions Expressed by the author are his or her opinions only and do not necessarily reflect those of this Web-Site or its agents, affiliates, officers, directors, staff, or contractors. The author at the time of this article did not own any shares or receive any consideration financial or otherwise from any company or person mentioned or referred to in the article.
THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITY!
No comments:
Post a Comment