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| Aafia produced in court, bail hearing on Monday |
| 2008-08-07 |
| Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui was produced in a New York court on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail, with a bail hearing set for August 11 followed by a regular hearing on August 19. While her family claims that for the last five years that Siddiqui has been missing, she has been in United States custody at the Bagram airbase near Kabul, US officials describe the mother of three as a facilitator for Al Qaeda. She was flown from Kabul to New York in an injured state on Monday and faces charges of attempting to kill American soldiers and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in Afghanistan. Ambassador Husain Haqqani told Daily Times that he had assigned a senior embassy official to remain in close touch with the developments. The embassy has also sought access to Siddiqui and offered any assistance she might need. A Pakistan embassy official was present in the court but made no contact with Siddiqui. Plea: The judge rejected her lawyer, Elizabeth M Fink's plea that the charge against her client should be dismissed. She told the judge that it was inconceivable that Siddiqui, who weighs just 90 pounds, would pick up an M-4 rifle and attack US security agents while in Afghan custody. The charge, Fink said, was "absurd". However, US District Court Judge Ronald L Ellis did not agree. Siddiqui, her head wrapped in a maroon scarf, looked extremely frail and in a very poor state. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 Who was it that said, "Dying is easy. It's living that's hard."? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-07 23:04 |
| #10 I don't know, Pappy. I think it would have been much, much better for her to be pushing up daisies in some Afghan poppy field than standing trial in New York. Nope. You want 'punitive'? Deny them death. Treat 'em like a petty criminal in any local court system. No 15 minutes of fame, no spectacle, no circus. Just an impersonal journey through the justice system, shepherded by a bureaucracy wanting only cooperation but quite willing to be as difficult as its charges. Think Supermax writ small. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-08-07 21:57 |
| #9 I remember the old Popeye cartoon when his ship was attacked he ripped a cannon off it's mounts and potted the bad guys (Enemy, name your own)underhanded. adrenalin will do wonderful things you don't remember doing aferwards, in the navy I was throttleman and the boiler made a horrible sound, I'm told I reported to the bridge (Sound Powered Telephone)"EXPLOSION IN THE BOILER ROOM" and I do not remember that at all. We stopped safely, turned out to be water in the fuel, in a sense it was a steam explosion. No harm done but it took a couple of hours to restart. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-08-07 17:43 |
| #8 #7 All of this could've been prevented by better marksmanship. Nah. Would've been too easy. Posted by: Pappy I don't know, Pappy. I think it would have been much, much better for her to be pushing up daisies in some Afghan poppy field than standing trial in New York. Cheaper, too. Kinda like chopping off the left hand of every talibunny we catch - effective, cheap, and long-lasting punishment (the left hand's the one you wipe your butt with, the right hand is for eating. If you don't have a left hand...). |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-08-07 12:49 |
| #7 All of this could've been prevented by better marksmanship. Nah. Would've been too easy. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-08-07 11:30 |
| #6 That's lawyerspeak for "absolutely true"... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-08-07 09:50 |
| #5 "inconceivable" I do not think that word means what you think it means. |
| Posted by: Inigo Montoya 2008-08-07 09:45 |
| #4 Plea: The judge rejected her lawyer, Elizabeth M Fink's plea that the charge against her client should be dismissed. She told the judge that it was inconceivable that Siddiqui, who weighs just 90 pounds, would pick up an M-4 rifle and attack US security agents while in Afghan custody. The charge, Fink said, was "absurd". Ms Fink needs to be instructed by the Judge to google 'African child soldiers' and click on images. Lying to the court is not ethical and offers the judge the opening if not the opportunity to 'correct' such behavior. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-08-07 09:42 |
| #3 All of this could've been prevented by better marksmanship. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-08-07 09:21 |
| #2 Not much kick from an M4. |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-08-07 08:07 |
| #1 Think of the basic stupidity of the argument that a 90 lb. woman could not pick up, hold, aim and fire an M-4 rifle. First of all, how long has she been 90lbs? Secondly, even if that is her normal weight, a M4 only weighs a little over 9lbs with ammo. I don't believe there is anyone who is still vertical and on this side of the grass who couldn't lift and handle 10% or their body weight. I am sure Ms. Fink has a plan B and lets hope it is as stupid as plan A. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-08-07 03:16 |