A Pakistani woman accused of grabbing a US soldier’s rifle and trying to shoot an Army captain while in custody in Afghanistan will face a US judge in New York on Tuesday on attempted murder charges.
Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani sought consular access to Aafia Siddiqui, a US-trained neuroscientist suspected of links to al-Qaeda, after she was brought to the United States on Monday.
Accounts of her arrest and the shooting incident differed between US prosecutors and Afghan police. Siddiqui, 36, was arrested outside the governor’s office in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province on July 17 after police searched her handbag and found documents on making explosives, excerpts from the book “Anarchist’s Arsenal” and descriptions of New York City landmarks, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
While detained in a meeting room, Siddiqui grabbed the M-4 assault rifle from a US Army warrant officer who had placed the weapon on the floor not knowing she was being held there, the statement said. Two FBI agents were also in the room.
Siddiqui fired at least twice at the captain but the shots missed as a military interpreter lunged at her. The warrant officer then shot her with his pistol, the statement said. “Despite being shot, Siddiqui struggled with the officers when they tried to subdue her; she struck and kicked them while shouting in English that she wanted to kill Americans,” it said, adding she then lost consciousness and was given medical treatment.
The New York Times said Siddiqui had links to at least two of 14 suspected high-level al-Qaeda members held at a prison camp at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The story of her arrest is one of the strangest since the Sept 11 attacks on the United States by al Qaeda in 2001. The ambassador of Pakistan made the request for consular access on Monday, APP said.
Afghan police in Ghazni told a different story. They said officers searched Siddiqui after reports of her suspicious behaviour and found maps of Ghazni, including one of the governor’s house, and arrested her along with a teenage boy.
US troops requested the woman be handed over to them but the police refused, a senior Ghazni police officer said. US soldiers then disarmed the Afghan police, at which point Siddiqui approached the Americans complaining of mistreatment by the police, the officer said.
The US troops, the officer said, “thinking that she had explosives and would attack them as a suicide bomber, shot her and took her.” The boy remained in police custody. US officials believe Siddiqui was in Pakistan until her arrest in neighbouring Afghanistan, the New York Times said.
By Azim Mian adds New York: Michael J Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mark J Mershon, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Raymond W Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced on Monday the arrest of Aafia Siddiqui on charges related to her attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan.
Siddiqui arrived in New York Monday evening and will be presented on Tuesday before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court: on July 17, 2008, officers of the Ghazni province Afghanistan National Police (ANP) observed Siddiqui outside the Ghazni governor’s compound. ANP officers questioned Siddiqui, regarded her as suspicious, and searched her handbag. In it, they found numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, as well as excerpts from the Anarchist’s Arsenal. Siddiqui’s papers included descriptions of various landmarks in the United States, including in New York City. Siddiqui was also in possession of substances that were sealed in bottles and glass jars.
On July 18, 2008, a party of United States personnel, including two FBI special agents, a United States army warrant Officer, a United States army captain, and United States military interpreters, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held. The personnel entered a second floor meeting room – unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain.
The warrant officer took a seat and placed his United States army M-4 rifle on the floor next to the curtain. Shortly after the meeting began, the Captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the warrant officer’s rifle and pointing it directly at the captain. Siddiqui said, “May the blood of [unintelligible] be directly on your (unintelligible, possibly head or hands).”
The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The warrant officer returned fire with a 9mm service pistol and fired approximately two rounds at Siddiqui’s torso, hitting her at least once.
Despite being shot, Siddiqui struggled with the officers when they tried to subdue her; she struck and kicked them while shouting in English that she wanted to kill Americans. After being subdued, Siddiqui temporarily lost consciousness. The agents and officers then rendered medical aid to Siddiqui.
Siddiqui, a 36-year-old Pakistani woman who previously resided in the United States, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York with one count of attempting to kill United States officers and employees and one count of assaulting United States officers and employees. If convicted, Siddiqui faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each charge.
Garcia praised the investigative work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York City Police Department. He also expressed his gratitude to the Office of International Affairs of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of State for their assistance in the case.
Garcia also thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts for their assistance. Garcia said the investigation is continuing. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher L Lavigne is in charge of the prosecution. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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