Terror Suspect Could Be Forced to Manhattan Hearing
July 6, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Siddiqui
A U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist accused of helping al-Qaida and shooting at FBI agents may be forced to appear in court Monday against her will.
Aafia Siddiqui may have to appear by video or in person in federal court in Manhattan at a hearing to decide if she’s competent to stand trial, defense attorney Dawn Cardi said. Siddiqui has reported seeing her children in her jail cell and has stated she died after being strip-searched.
Prosecutors accuse Siddiqui of having ties to al-Qaida and say she grabbed a U.S. Army officer’s M-4 rifle in Afghanistan, pointed it at an Army captain and cried “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.” They say she fired at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents before she was shot and wounded by an Army officer.
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Siddiqui, a specialist in neuroscience who trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University, appeared in court twice after she was brought to the U.S. last August but has refused to attend proceedings since then. She’s charged with attempted murder and assault.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman entered a not guilty plea for her.
The judge signed an order days ago permitting authorities to take her to court against her will, Cardi said.
