UPDATED ON:
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
04:48 Mecca time, 01:48 GMT
 
News Americas
Pakistani doctor faces US trial
Last month Pakistani protesters called
for Siddiqui's release [AFP]

A Pakistani neurosurgeon, who the US says is linked to al-Qaeda and shot at US officials, has been extradited from Afghanistan to face trial in New York.

The family of Aafia Siddiqui expressed shock on Tuesday after it emerged she had been extradited to the US on charges of shooting at US soldiers while in detention in Afghanistan.

Fauzia, Siddiqui's sister who lives in Karachi, said: "We are very shocked and depressed. It is very alarming for the  family ... Her absence has given us great pain for the last five years and we have been looking for her and her children."

Siddiqui, a former US resident, was arrested on July 17 by police in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

At the time of her arrest she was carrying documents on how to make explosives and descriptions of US landmarks in her handbag, according to the complaint against her in the court.

She was also carrying "chemical substances in gel and liquid form that were sealed in bottles and glass jars", the complaint said.

Siddiqui is also said to have fired on US military officials who arrived at her detention facility one day after her arrest, using an assault rifle one of them had placed on the floor.

An interpreter pushed the rifle aside as she fired two shots, which missed, the prosecution said. One of two shots fired by a soldier in response hit her in the torso and she was subdued.

Allegations rejected

Elaine Whitfield Sharp, a lawyer for Siddiqui's family, called the charges "a tall story" and disputed the US government's earlier claims that Siddiqui had gone underground for several years before her capture.

The family suspects that after she vanished with her three children while in Pakistan in 2003, she was secretly held and possibly tortured before US authorities finally brought charges to justify her detention.

"I believe she's become a terrible embarrassment to them, but she's not a terrorist," Sharp said. "When the truth comes out, people will see she did nothing wrong."

At the time of the incident, Afghan officials gave conflicting accounts of what transpired between Siddiqui and the US interrogators, while US officials offered no comment.

General Khan Mohammad Mujahid, police chief in central Ghazni province, initially said police argued with the Americans over giving up custody of Siddiqui, But he later said there was no argument and that the woman lunged at one of the US soldiers.

US authorities have said in the past that they believe Siddiqui, who received a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote a doctoral thesis on neurological sciences at Brandeis University, outside Boston, has links to al-Qaeda.

Her arrest last month prompted protests in Pakistan, with demonstrators, many from Jamaat-i-Islami, calling for Siddiqui's release.

Siddiqui is charged with one count of attempting to kill US officers and employees, and one count of assaulting US officers and  employees.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge.

 Source: Agencies
Feedback Number of comments : 15
 
taji
United States
05/08/2008
Khalid Rahim, HHHmmm i am sure your views are not free of pre-jugdement. West bad .. Middle East Good. Life in West, enjoy the freedom not had at home, bash the west. I pray we fix our liberal immigration laws.

sameen
India
06/08/2008
Waiting for unity
Reference to Mr. Khalids comment, the intense hatred and mutual solidarity these countries are exhibiting against Iran is precisely for this reason. I wonder if the nations/people (there is no dearth of people who do so) who support Iran can ever put up a united front.

M R Haffajee
Afghanistan
06/08/2008
Aafia Siddiqui
One day the truth will come out that the USA lives in an imaginary world of their own making, and the CIA, FBI and the Pakistani intelligence services colluded to put innocent people into Gulags scattered around the globe. So much for the keepers of truth and justice.

Salahudin
France, Metropolitan
06/08/2008
Pakistani doctor
This pakistani doctor tale looks much like a James (Jane) Bond movie. Muslim people in the East think that West is bad and vice versa! There has always been mutual distrust. Who is telling the truth? I do not know. But there is a french proverb that say "there is no smoke without fire".

Rob
United Kingdom
06/08/2008
Dr.Affia,s ordeal
She was kidnapped 5 years ago,she has been phsyically and mentally tortured for 5 years,rape being the favourite torture,moazzam beg heard her cries,others saw her,lord nazir spoke up for her,evonne ridley-imran khan-human rights spoke up for prisoner 650 and her 3 small children.when they could no longer keep her torture secret,they came up witht he biggest lie imaginable,the lady after 5 years of dissappearing decides she will go and visit the governor of ghazni with recipes for bombs+maps.

Syed T
Afghanistan
09/08/2008
Dead Silent
It is interesting that media in Canada and US is either dead silent or dragging the version that US military is pushing , How loyal is the media to Military , I am impresssed! Why they even bother to call it free and fair.people like taji want people to take an oath that they will flatter the west before they are allowed to migrate, how magananimous! I am impressed, all the faults are with Aljazeera who dare criticize Israel or in China that does not allow people to express. themselves.

Martin
United Kingdom
09/08/2008
Aafia Siddiqui
Unfortunately, the people of truth and justice are never going to be heard while we are ruled by tyrannical imperalist rulers. The sad fact is that American is the governor of the world. This lady has endured untold pain and suffering and now the cat is out of the bag, the American government are seeking to justify her detention. the bigger and more frightening picture and one they wish to instill into the minds of people is "innocent people are collateral damage" everyone is fair game.

Khalid Rahim
Canada
05/08/2008
How to terrorize nations.
This is one of the greatest Cock and Bull story that Bush administration has come up with! Unfortunately leaders of all effected nations except Iran have lost their will and character to stand up to this abuse. This war against terror is nothing but humbug.

Tauseef
Pakistan
05/08/2008
No Comments
Is there anything left to say about world’s most proclaimed democratic nation? Well I don’t want to write anything about them nor about Pakistani officials who arrested and delivered Dr. Aafia innocently to FBI. But I am sure anyone who has read about recent drama US has brought into scene, How could they throw dust in the eyes of whole world well I think US agencies and army have justified why the whole sane world is against them.

Hilal
India
05/08/2008
Shameful act! See how cowards Pakistanis are, how fearless the Afghanis are and how shameless Americans are? The lies of western world in Iraq and Afghanistan reflect their complicacy and they fear now a women who just has a qualification in biology and not in military sciences, industrial technology. Quite deceitful and unreasonable accusation it looks. It deserves to condemn this arrest and confinement.

Birte Ragland
Australia
05/08/2008
Ridiculous
When is the rest of the world going to stand up and act as one.The only oppressors and so called terrorists in the world today is the USA government.This story is the biggest load of crap that I have heard so far.One justice for people like Aafia and no justice for the real terrorists.

BM
United States
06/08/2008
Jurisdiction & venue
The shooting occurred in Afghanistan, so how does US law apply? Did she violate US law while in the USA? If so, extradition my may be legal?

Maleeha
Pakistan
06/08/2008
Americans: So called champions of Human Rights and Womens Enfranchisment!
The Aafia Siddqui case is another extremely unfortunate and unjust tragedy! It only shows that terrorism, might be plotted against muslims as a reputation..but in reality and especially on accounts such as these, it only confirms who the real terrorists are!... A poor woman, has been framed in this sick world, where media is used as a tool by many, for personal motives!.. Aafia's case only shows the bias & double standards the American administration has for non westerners!

Adam
United States
06/08/2008
Crazy story... nobody knows the truth but her and the police involved.

fair and square
United States
07/08/2008
Not all Americans think alike
This sad tory of Dr. Siddiqui angers many, including nearly all my friends and asociates in the US. We're well aware of the perception (from news media) that the US is a homogeneously pro-war, pro-bush, and generally stupid and arrogant bunch. In my circle of friends I know NONE of such people. It is embarasing to potrayed as such, and to be associated - by country - with events such as those in this story, with Musharraf and his US ties, etc. Feel free to hate our govenment, we do to.

 
ARTICLE TOOLS
 Email Article  Email article
 Print Article  Print article
 Send Feedback  Send feedback
 Share article  Share article