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Pakistan's president backs 'guilty' scientist in US
Pakistan's president Thursday ordered the government to provide possible legal assistance to a scientist found guilty in the United States of trying to kill US servicemen, his office said."President Asif Ali Zardari directed the government to immediately establish contact with the family of Doctor Aafia Siddiqui and provide her with possible legal assistance in the US," his office said. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari was "concerned about the verdict and expressed the hope that justice will ultimately be done as the case passes through subsequent stages in the US judicial system". A US jury found Siddiqui, 37, a mother and neuroscientist trained at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, guilty on all charges. She could face life in prison when sentenced on May 6. Zardari's statement came as Siddiqui's mother claimed that the Pakistan government, which is a US ally in the war in Afghanistan, did nothing for her release." What has happened clearly shows the lack of seriousness on part of our government in getting her released," 70-year old Ismat Siddiqui told AFP after the verdict. Protesters took to the streets in support of Siddiqui in major cities of Pakistan on Thursday as the government expressed "dismay" over the verdict, vowing to consult her family and lawyers on how to secure her release. Siddiqui was accused of grabbing a rifle at an Afghan police station where she was being interrogated in July 2008 and trying to gun down US servicemen. Posted by: tipper 2010-02-04 |
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