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| Pak diplomats meet al-Qaida suspect under US detention |
| 2008-08-11 |
| (PTI) Pakistani diplomats met a possible "fixer" for al-Qaida, being held without bail here on charges of attempting to kill FBI agents in Afghanistan, after US authorities agreed to their request for consular access. Pakistans acting consul general Saqib Rauf and Counsellor at the embassy in Washington Faqir Asif Hussain met Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist, along with her attorney Gideon Oliver at the Brooklyn Detention Centre yesterday and assured her of all possible assistance, The Associated Press of Pakistan reported. According to a US criminal complaint, Siddiqui (36) was carrying documents containing recipes for explosives and chemical weapons and describing "various landmarks in the United States, including New York City". A team of FBI agents and US military officers prepared to question her after she was detained in July but she allegedly snatched a soldier's rifle and pointed it at an Army captain. She fired two shots but missed because an interpreter pushed the weapon aside, authorities allege. She was wounded when a soldier fired at her in response and was given medical aid and later flown to New York to be formally charged in a federal court. Siddiqui reiterated yesterday that she is innocent of the charges made against her by the US authorities, expressing a hope that she will be acquitted following her trial. "I am confident if there is any justice I will be acquitted," she said. She requested for a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book and 'halal' (religiously appropriate) food, media reports said. US authorities say Siddiqui received a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote a doctoral thesis on neurological sciences at Brandeis University, outside Boston. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 US authorities say Siddiqui received a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote a doctoral thesis on neurological sciences at Brandeis University, outside Boston. If they release him, I understand there is now an open research position available at Ft. Detrick. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-08-11 04:06 |