A 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals is set to hear an appeal by Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyers against her September 2010 conviction on charges of attempting to kill American intelligence officers in Afghanistan in 2008.
Dr. Aafia, a Pakistani neuroscientist, was sentenced to 86 years in prison by the Federal District Court in New York City. Dr. Aafia consistently denied the charges levelled against her while pleading her innocence.
Her lawyer, Dawn Cardi, will argue before the panel for overturning the judgement against Dr. Aafia, while the prosecution will seek dismissal of the appeal.
She was arrested in July 2008 in Ghazni, Afghanistan, and flown to New York York where she was kept in a high security prison. Dr. Aafia earned degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University.
Her case had attracted the attention of human rights groups, some of which conducted campaigns in favour of her release or a lenient sentence.
Dr Siddiqui must listen to her lawyers and act on the legal advice given to her.
With no disrespect to Dr Siddiqui she adversely affected the outcome of her case by acting in a manner she should not have. She did not accept the advice given to her and choose to give evidence. You may be bright and attended MIT but legal matters are different.
If Dr Siddiqui was traumatized as result of long detention the lawyers can seek appropriate medical evidence to say so. In England Consultant Psychiatrists approved by the secretary of State for Health would be the experts in this area giving advice to the court.
England 10th February 2012
What a shame? American courts punished her for a crime she strongly deny she ever comitted. Our "Courts" remained dead silent when an American killer Raymond Davis was being taken out. Our courts had facilitated by arranging "special court" in the wee hour of the morning and had allowed the "unknowns" to take him out of Pakistan. No judge dared to take suo moto action.
SHAHID HUSSEIN QABOOLPURIA,
LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Everyone knows the outcome beforehand. some 3 ring circus!!!. Its like the patwari system of the Brits. One mistake by a patwari goes all the way to the top and the secretary saab fixes it (5 years later). There you are you ungrateful bastard – ar'nt we Brits great and tell the whole friggin village that
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