Aafia Siddiqui - Misplaced Pages

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Aafia Siddiqui
Arrested	March 2003 Karachi FBI
Citizenship	Pakistani
Charge(s)	i) Two counts of attempted murder; ii) Armed assault; iii) Using and carrying a firearm; and iv) Assault on U.S. officers and employees
Status	Convicted; awaiting sentencing
Occupation	Neuroscientist
Spouse	Mohammed Khan 1995-October 21, 2002; Ammar al-Baluchi 2003-present
Children	Ahmed (b. 1996); Mariam (b. 1998); and Suleman (b. 2002)

Aafia Siddiqui (born March 2, 1972, in Karachi, Pakistan) is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brandeis alumna. She disappeared in 2003, and resurfaced in U.S. custody in 2008.

Siddiqui was charged with shooting at soldiers who were guarding her while she was in custody, and was convicted on February 3, 2010, in a Manhattan court of attempted murder and armed assault.

Early life and education

Siddiqui was one of three siblings raised in Karachi, Pakistan. Her father, Muhammad Siddiqui, was a British-trained doctor and her mother, Ismet, a homemaker. Her brother, an architect, lives with his wife, a pediatrician, in Houston, Texas. Her sister, Fowzia Siddiqui, is a Harvard-trained neurologist and worked in Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, before returning to Pakistan.

Siddiqui moved to Texas in the United States in 1990, joining her siblings. After attending the University of Houston for her freshman year, she transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During her years at MIT, she was regarded as religious by her colleagues. She joined an association of Muslim students, and wrote three guides for teaching Islam. In 1992, as an MIT sophomore, Siddiqui received a Carroll L. Wilson Award for her research proposal "Islamization in Pakistan and its Effects on Women". As a junior, Siddiqui received a $1,200 City Days fellowship through MIT's program to help clean up Cambridge elementary school playgrounds. During her undergraduate years, she lived in McCormick Hall and worked at the MIT libraries, graduating from MIT in 1995. A year after she graduated, Siddiqui wrote an article for the MIT Information Systems newsletter about the File Transfer Protocol and the then-emerging World Wide Web.

In 1995 she had an arranged marriage to anesthesiologist Amjad Mohammed Khan from Karachi. They were married over the phone. In 1999, while living in Boston, Siddiqui and her husband founded the nonprofit Institute of Islamic Research and Teaching. She attended a mosque outside the city, where she stored copies of the Koran and other Islamic literature that she distributed. She went on to graduate study in cognitive neuroscience at Brandeis University, receiving a Ph.D. degree in 2001 for her dissertation, titled "Separating the Components of Imitation." She also co-authored several journal articles.

According to Khan, after the September 11 attacks Siddiqui insisted on leaving the U.S., saying that it was unsafe for them and their children to remain because the U.S. government was abducting Muslim children. In May 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned Siddiqui and her husband regarding their purchase over the internet of $10,000 worth of night vision goggles, body armor, and military manuals including The Anarchist's Arsenal, Fugitive, Advanced Fugitive, and How to Make C-4. Khan claimed that these were for hunting and camping expeditions. On June 26, 2002, the couple returned to Pakistan.

In August 2002 the couple's marriage reached a breaking point. Khan went to Siddiqui's parents' home, and said he intended to divorce her. An argument took place between Khan and her father, and Siddiqui's father suffered a fatal heart attack on August 15, 2002. A few weeks later Siddiqui gave birth to their third child. Their divorce was finalized on October 21, 2002.

Her ex-husband has accused Siddiqui of being abusive and manipulative throughout their seven years of marriage, and said that Siddiqui had a violent personality and extremist views, leading him to suspect her of involvement in Jihadi activities. He has also said that Siddiqui wanted him to move to Afghanistan, and work as a medic for the mujahideen. They have three children: Ahmed (b. 1996), Maryam (b. 1998), and Suleman (b. 2002). The two older children are American citizens.

In a dossier prepared by U.N. investigators for the 9/11 Commission in 2004, Siddiqui was identified as one of six alleged al-Qaeda figures who were involved in buying diamonds in West Africa immediately prior to the September 11 attacks. It was claimed that she visited Monrovia in Liberia in 2001. According to Alan White, former chief investigator of a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Liberia, she was in Monrovia on June 16, 2001, using the alias of 'Fahrem'.

In December 2002 Siddiqui made another trip to the U.S., saying that she was looking for a job. The FBI suspects that the real purpose of her trip was to open a P.O. Box for an alleged al-Qaeda operative, Majid Khan. Siddiqui listed Majid Khan as a co-owner, and falsely identified him as her husband. The key of the P.O. box was later found in the possession of Uzair Paracha, who was convicted of providing material support to al-Qaeda, and sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in 2006. Siddiqui's ex-husband has also said he was suspicious of Siddiqui's intentions, as she made her trip between December 22, 2002, and January 3, 2003--at a time when U.S. universities are closed.

At the time of her arrest in 2008, when FBI agents questioned her in Afghanistan she claimed to be married to Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Siddiqui's marriage to al-Baluchi has been denied by her family, but confirmed by Pakistani intelligence, FBI, and--according to court records--by Siddiqui herself. A defense psychologist also confirmed the marriage, and BBC confirmed it from security sources and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's family.

Disappearance and FBI warning

Before her disappearance, she was working at Aga Khan University in Karachi. On March 1, 2003, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, alleged chief planner of the September 11 attacks, was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is speculated that Khalid revealed Siddiqui's name during his interrogation, as shortly thereafter a series of related arrests began. On the same day as Muhammad's arrest, Siddiqui emailed a former professor at Brandeis University and expressed interest in working in the U.S., citing lack of options in Karachi for women of her academic background. A few days later, she left her parents' house along with her three children. She took a taxi to the airport, ostensibly to catch a morning flight to Islamabad to visit her uncle, but disappeared.

Siddiqui's whereabouts and activities from March 2003 to July 2008 are a matter of dispute. In March 2003, the FBI issued a global "wanted for questioning" alert for Siddiqui and her ex-husband, Amjad Khan. While Siddiqui remained missing, Khan was questioned and subsequently released by the FBI. Multiple allegations were made against Siddiqui, to the effect that she was a "courier of blood diamonds and a financial fixer for al-Qaida". Khan believes she went into hiding after the global alert for her was issued. According to the U.S. and Khan, Siddiqui was at large, working on behalf of al-Qaeda.

During her 'disappearance' Khan said he saw her at Islamabad airport in April 2003 as she disembarked from a flight with her son, and said he helped Inter-Services Intelligence identify her. Two years later he said he saw her in a Karachi traffic jam. Siddiqui's maternal uncle, Shams ul-Hassan Faruqi, says he met her in January 2008 when she came to visit him in Islamabad, and asked for his help in order to cross over into Afghanistan where she thought she would be safe in the hands of the Taliban. Faruqi said that he immediately notified his sister, Siddiqui's mother, who came in the next day to meet her daughter. He said that Siddiqui stayed with them for two days.

In 2003-04, the FBI and the Pakistani government said they did not know the Siddiqui's whereabouts. The FBI listed her as being one of the seven "most wanted" al-Qaeda fugitives, and said she was a "terrorist facilitator". In May 2004 the U.S. listed her among the seven "most wanted" al-Qaeda fugitives. In the same month an unnamed Pakistani interior ministry spokesman said that Siddiqui was arrested and handed over to U.S. authorities in 2003.

According to Yvonne Ridley, she spent those years in solitary confinement at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, as Prisoner 650. Siddiqui herself gave conflicting explanations, alternately claiming that she was kidnapped by U.S. intelligence and Pakistani intelligence ,while also claiming that she was working for Pakistani intelligence during this time.

Children

Siddiqui has not explained what happened to her two younger children. Her ex-husband believes that the children are in Karachi, and in contact with Siddiqui's family. He also says that the missing children were seen in Siddiqui's house in Karachi and Islamabad on several occasions since their alleged disappearance in 2003. Her eldest son, Ahmad, resurfaced in 2008, but her two younger children are still missing. Ahmad has been prohibited from talking to the press by Siddiqui's family. Her ex-husband has unsuccessfully sought custody of his eldest son, and said that he suspected the two younger children were with Siddiqui's family, and not in U.S. detention.

Arrest

Siddiqui was arrested on July 17, 2008, by officers of the Ghazni Province Afghanistan National Police outside the Ghazni governor's compound, and taken to a police station on suspicions prompted by her failure to speak either of Afghanistan's main languages, Pashtu or Dari. At the time of her arrest she was accompanied by a teenage boy who she claimed was an orphan she had adopted. She said her name was Saliha, that she was from Multan in Pakistan, and that the boy's name was Ali Hassan. DNA testing revealed that the boy was in fact was her oldest son, Ahmed. The officers found that she had in her handbag a number of documents describing the creation of explosives, chemical weapons, and radiological agents, as well as descriptions of various U.S. landmarks, including in New York City. She also had documents detailing U.S. "military assets", excerpts from The Anarchist's Arsenal, a one-gigabyte digital media storage device (thumb drive), and "numerous chemical substances in gel and liquid form that were sealed in bottles and glass jars", according to the later complaint against her.

The following day, on July 18, 2008, two FBI agents, a U.S. Army warrant officer, a U.S. Army captain, and their interpreters arrived in Ghazni with their interpreters at the facility where Siddiqui; they did not realize that Siddiqui was standing behind a curtain in the same room, according to the complaint. She allegedly came out from behind the curtain, and picked up an M-4 assault rifle that one of the officers had placed on the floor by his feet, pointed it at the Americans, and threatened them loudly in English, and fired at least two shots at them. At that point one of the interpreters managed to wrestle the rifle away from her. She was shot in the abdomen by a warrant officer, and taken to Bagram Air Base by helicopter in a critical condition. When she arrived at the hospital she was 3 on Glasgow Coma Scale, but underwent emergency surgery and recovered over the next two weeks.

She was charged in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York with assaulting, and attempting to kill, U.S. personnel, as well as with having connections with al-Qaeda.

Trial

Siddiqui was charged with attempted murder and assault for allegedly trying to kill an American interrogator in a gun battle in July 2008, after she was arrested outside an Afghan government compound in Ghazni with a handbag full of chemicals and information on chemical, biological and radiological weapons, as well as descriptions of “various landmarks” in the United States . Her trial was subject to numerous delays, the longest, of six months, due to a psychiatric evaluation of claims that she was "going crazy", with hallucinations and crying fits. Three of four psychiatric experts concluded that she was faking her symptoms of mental illness. Siddiqui faces up to 20 years in prison on the attempted murder charges and life in prison on the firearms charge. The Pakistani government confirmed that they paid $2 million for the services of the three lawyers appointed to defend Siddiqui during her trial, which started January 19, 2010, in New York.

A large number of Siddiqui's supporters were present in the court and two other rooms in the building, watching the proceedings via closed circuit television. Outside the court, dozens of people, led by Shahid Comrade of the Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum, rallied to demand justice for Siddiqui and her release.

Petition filed by government of Pakistan

In February 2009, after six years of silence, her ex-husband Muhammad Amjad Khan, spoke up and said that most of the press reports related to her as well as their children were false . In Pakistan, a petition has been filed seeking action against the Pakistani government for not approaching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to have Siddiqui released from the U.S. Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffree said that the CIA had arrested Siddiqui from Karachi in 2003 and one of her sons, was killed during her arrest. On January 21, 2010, he submitted documents allegedly proving the arrest of Siddiqui from Pakistan to the Lahore High Court. The hearing of the petition was on January 25, 2010 and pending.

Jury selection; boycott of trial

Siddiqui's trial began on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, in New York. Prior to the trial, Siddiqui declared that she would boycott the trial, because she considered herself innocent of all charges, which she maintained she can prove, but refused to do that in court. On January 11, Siddiqui told a judge that she wanted to fire her legal team and complained about "injustices in this court." Jury selection was scheduled for Wednesday, January 13, in federal court of Manhattan. It was reported on January 14, 2010, that Siddiqui said, addressing Manhattan federal judge Richard Berman, that she would not cooperate with her attorneys, and repeatedly denounced the proceedings. She said she did not want Jews on the jury and demanded that all prospective jurors be DNA-tested and excluded from the jury at her trial in New York; "If they have a Zionist or Israeli background...they are all mad at me,(...)I have a feeling everyone here is them—subject to genetic testing. They should be excluded if you want to be fair." She further stated she had a lack of trust in the judge and that she was "boycotting the trial (...) there are too many injustices. I’m out of this". Following the outburst she was removed from the court, although the judge asserted she would be allowed back, as she was entitled to be present at her trial. A jury selection was completed on Thursday and opening arguments commenced Tuesday, January 19. On her comments regarding the jury selection, Siddiqui's legal team stated that Siddiqui's incarceration had damaged her mind.

Trial begins

The attempted-murder trial of Siddiqui began in Manhattan federal courtroom on January 19, 2010. Prior to the jury entering the courtroom, Siddiqui turned to onlookers and told them that she had information about domestic terror plots, would not work with her lawyers and was there against her will saying; "This isn't a fair court, (...) Why do I have to be here? (...) There are many different versions of how this happened" referring to the alleged shooting. She also claimed to have knowledge of the 9/11 attacks; "I have information about attacks, more than 9/11!" (...) "I want to help the president to end this group, to finish them" (...) "They are a domestic, U.S. group, they are not Muslim. I’m not lying, I swear!" she reasserted the need for her to meet the president because "It's important!" (...) "The President has to talk to me and this is the last opportunity I have once I'm sentenced" (...) "God, it's important, and please don't ignore me for the sake of God and this beautiful country."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenna Dabbs told jurors Siddiqui was taken into custody by Afghan police in July, because she was carrying containers of unidentified chemicals and notes referring to mass-casualty attacks and New York landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Testimonies

Three government witnesses testified; Army Capt. Robert Snyder, John Threadcraft, a former army officer and John Jefferson, an FBI agent. Both were stationed in Afghanistan at the time of the alleged assault and murder attempt.

During the trial, while Snyder testified that Siddiqui had been arrested with a handwritten note outlining plans to attack various U.S. sites, Siddiqui disrupted the proceedings stating; "Since I'll never get a chance to speak, if you were in a secret prison ... where children were tortured," (...) "This is no list of targets against New York. I was never planning to bomb it. You're lying."

Removal from trial

As result of her outbursts, Siddiqui was repeatedly removed from the court. While ordering the removal of Siddiqui, Judge Berman said that she could watch the proceedings on closed-circuit television in an adjacent holding cell, a proposal that Siddiqui rejected. A request by the defence lawyers to declare a mistrial was turned down by the judge.

Inconsistencies and lack of forensic evidence

The statements Siddiqui allegedly made in the Afghan police station in Ghazni, was also mentioned by Dabbs, but the defense highlighted the absence of any forensic evidence. No bullets, shell casings or bullet debris were recovered. Neither were any bullet holes detected at the crime scene. During the cross-examination, the defense attorneys, Charles Swift and Linda Moreno, cited the contradiction in the versions of the alleged Ghazni incident given by the three witnesses. The witness testimonies ranged the number of people present at the police outpost to the distance of the barrel of the gun from the curtain. Another issue was the sloppy handling of evidence and the weapon.

The trial continued with testimonies of FBI agent John Jefferson and Ahmed Gul, an army interpreter, who recounted their alleged struggle with her in Ghazni. Following Tuesday's outbursts, Judge Berman warned Siddiqui that no more outbursts would be tolerated, which she accepted; "I’m just going to be quiet, but it doesn’t mean I agree."

The trial took an unusual turn when an FBI official asserted that the fingerprints taken from the rifle, which was purportedly used by Siddiqui to shoot at the U.S. interrogators, did not match hers. Further the testimony of witness Masood Haider Gul appeared to differ from that given by U.S. Capt. Snyder earlier. The defense denied all charges saying; "The soldiers had given different versions of where she was when the M-4 was allegedly fired and how many shots were fired."

Conviction

The trial lasted for 2 weeks and the jury deliberated for 2 days before reaching a verdict. On February 3, 2010, she was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying a firearm and assault on U.S. officers and employees and faces up to 60 years in prison. Sentence will be passed in May 2010.

Taliban threats

According to Pakistani newspaper The News International the Taliban have threatened to execute U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl in retaliation for Siddiqui's conviction.

They claim members of Siddiqui's family requested their help. A Taliban spokesman claimed:

"We tried our best to make the family understand that our role may create more troubles for the hapless woman, who was already in trouble. On their persistent requests, we have now decided to include Dr Aafia Siddiqui's name in the list of our prisoners in US custody that we delivered to Americans in Afghanistan for swap of their soldier in our custody."

References

^ "'Lady Al Qaeda' Aafia Siddiqui convicted of attempted murder". The NewYork Times. Wednesday, February 3rd 2010,4:10 PM. Retrieved February 4, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Template:Cite article
"The Carroll L. Wilson Award Recipients 1986-2005".
^ Keith J. Winstein. "Reported Capture of MIT Alumna Denied by FBI". The Tech. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
^ The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, The Guardian, 2009-11-24
Pakistani couple sought in Qaeda hunt by Khalid Hasan from the Daily Times March 27, 2003. Accessed July 6, 2009
NBC, Woman Sought by FBI Reportedly Arrested in Pakistan: Neurologist Questioned by FBI for Alleged Al-Qaida Links, April 3, 2003
^ Masroor, Aroosa, Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s husband breaks his silence after six years, The News International, 2009-02-18
^ The intelligence factory: How America makes its enemies disappear, Harper's Magazine, November 2009
^ America's Most Wanted 'The Most Dangerous Woman in the World', Der Spiegel, 2008-11-27
^ Cite error: The named reference emma was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Al-Qaeda bought diamonds before 9/11, USA Today, 2004-08-07
Pakistani man convicted of providing material support to Al-qaeda sentenced to 30 years in federal prison
^ Al-Qaeda Woman? Putting Aafia Siddiqui on Trial, TIME, 2010-01-18
Family Affair, Just Maybe, at Courthouse
Mystery of Siddiqui disappearance, BBC, 2008-08-06
^ Suzanne Goldenberg and Saeed Shah (August 6, 2008). "Mystery of 'ghost of Bagram' - victim of torture or captured in a shootout?". The Guardian.
Anwar Iqbal (August 4, 2008). "FBI concedes Aafia Siddiqui in US custody: lawyer". Dawn. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
Questions about convicted Pakistani doctor Siddiqui, BBC, February 4, 2010
"Pakistanis will not be extradited, US told". Dawn. April 16, 2003. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
"Dr Aafia was handed over to US last year:govt". April 29, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
Dr Aafia’s ex-husband seeks children’s custody, Dawn (newspaper), 2009-07-08
"'Al-Qaeda woman' Aafia Siddiqui' in court on attempted murder charge"
"Witnesses' accounts differ at Dr. Aafia's trial". Dawn News. January 21, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
Over 800 Pakistanis in Indian jails, Senate informed
Aafia rejects witness’s claim she planned to attack New York landmarks
Proof of Dr Aafia’s arrest submitted to court
Backstory: "The Intelligence Factory" By Petra Bartosiewics
Dr Aafia to boycott trial
Woman Accused of al-Qaida Ties Wants Lawyers Fired
Aafia Siddiqui demands no Jewish jurors at attempted murder trial
Aafia Siddiqui, Alleged Al Qaida Sympathizer: No Jews On Jury
'Lady Al Qaeda' trial: Suspected terrorist Aafia Siddiqui tossed from courtroom after outburst
'Lady Al Qaeda' cries foul: Accused terrorist Aafia Siddiqui says toss Jews from jury pool
Exclude Jew jurors, demands Dr Aafia
Pakistani neuroscientist says boycotting NY trial
Pak working on legal, diplomatic fronts for Aafia’s release: Haqqani
Tom Hays (February 4, 2010). "Reputed al-Qaida supporter on trial over 2008 Afghanistan shooting removed from NYC courtroom". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
"Pakistani Woman Ejected From Trial Over Afghan Attack". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
"Reputed al-Qaida Supporter Rants at Opening Day of Trial". NBC Newyork.
"My children were tortured, this trial is a sham: Aafia". January 20, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |Publiser= ignored (help)
"Outburst punctuates opening of MIT scientist's trial". Boston.com. January 20, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
"Pakistani scientist alleges torture". Tehran Times. February 21, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
Bruce Golding (January 20, 2010). "'Qaeda' mom tossed from Manhattan courtroom". Retrieved February 4, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
Pakistani Woman Ejected From Trial Over Afghan Attack
Reputed al-Qaida Supporter Rants at Opening Day of Trial
Outburst From Defendant in Afghan Shooting Trial
Witness recounts struggle with al-Qaida suspect
Witnesses’ accounts differ at Dr. Aafia’s trial
^ "Aafia lawyers reject court's ruling". The News. February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
Ed Pilkington (February 4, 2010). "Pakistani scientist found guilty of attempted murder of US agents". The Guardian. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
Mushtaq Yusufzai (February 5, 2010). "Taliban to execute US soldier if Aafia not released". The News International. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. The Afghan Taliban on Thursday demanded the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist who has been convicted by the US court on charges of her alleged attempt to murder US soldiers in Afghanistan, and threatened to execute an American soldier they were holding currently. They claimed Aafia Siddiqui's family had approached the Taliban network through a Jirga of notables, seeking their assistance to put pressure on the US to provide her justice.
"Taliban demands release of Pak terror suspect Aafia, threatens to kill US soldier". One India. February 5, 2010. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010.

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