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Dr Aafia charged with soldier attack
Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui was arrested on "charges related to her attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan", according to US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Michael Garcia, Mark Mershon of the FBI's New York office and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.Siddiqui, due to appear before a magistrate in a New York federal court on Tuesday, has been confirmed to be in the custody of the FBI. The Pakistan Embassy has approached United States authorities to obtain consular access to Dr Siddiqui. According to a FBI announcement, officers of the Ghazni province Afghanistan National Police arrested Siddiqui when they searched her handbag and found numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, excerpts from the Anarchist's Arsenal, and descriptions of various US landmarks. It says that on July 18, a party of US personnel, including two FBI special agents, a US Army warrant officer, a US Army captain, and US military interpreters, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held. "The personnel entered a second floor meeting room -- unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain. The warrant officer took a seat and placed his United States Army M-4 rifle on the floor next to the curtain.. Shortly after the meeting began, the captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the warrant officer's rifle and pointing it directly at the captain. Siddiqui said, 'May the blood of (unintelligible) be directly on your (unintelligible, possibly head or hands)'. The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger." The statement added that Siddiqui fired at least two shots, hitting no one. The warrant officer returned fire with a 9mm service pistol and hitting Siddiqui at least once. It said that after being subdued, Siddiqui temporarily lost consciousness and was rendered medical aid. Maximum sentence: The FBI statement also said: "Siddiqui is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York with one count of attempting to kill United States officers and employees and one count of assaulting United States officers and employees. If convicted, Siddiqui faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each charge." Posted by: Fred 2008-08-06 |
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