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.
US appellate court to hear Dr Aafia’s appeal
