The New Media Journal | Al Qaeda Suspect Promises to Boycott Her New York Trial: "A US-trained scientist from Pakistan accused of shooting at FBI agents and helping al Qaeda vowed last Thursday to boycott her January trial.
Aafia Siddiqui interrupted lawyers at her pretrial hearing in US District Court in Manhattan to announce that she did not plan to participate in her trial, scheduled for Jan. 19. 'I am boycotting this trial,' she said. 'I am innocent of all the charges and I can prove it, but I will not do it in this court.'
Siddiqui was brought to the United States in August 2008 after she was accused of grabbing a US Army officer's rifle in Afghanistan several weeks earlier and firing at US soldiers and FBI agents. She was shot in the abdomen in the fight and was charged with attempted murder and assault.
Lawyers for Siddiqui tried to convince the court that she was mentally incompetent to stand trial, citing in part her refusal to cooperate with lawyers and the reports of a psychologist who said she suffers from delusional disorder and depression.
US District Judge Richard M. Berman rejected that argument after prosecutors pointed to psychological reports that concluded she was faking mental illness.
Berman on Thursday rejected defense arguments aimed at tossing out charges against the 37-year-old woman that carry a potential minimum prison sentence of 30 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Siddiqui is a specialist in neuroscience who trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University. She fled to her native Pakistan in 2003."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Spamming will be removed.
Due to spamming. Comments need to be moderated. Your post will appear after moderated regardless of your views as long as they are not abusive in nature. Consistent abusive posters will not be viewed but deleted.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.