Texas hostage case: Who is the Pakistani convict Afiya Siddiqui on the middle of the storm?

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officers say the person was Capturing hostages inside a synagogue in Texas Demands on Saturday the discharge of a Pakistani lady who’s imprisoned close by for making an attempt to kill US service members in Afghanistan.

The lady, Afiya Siddiqui, is serving 86 years in jail after pleading responsible in Manhattan in 2010 to prices that she sought to shoot US army officers two years earlier whereas in detention in Afghanistan.

for the Department of Justice, which was Siddiqui accused of being linked to Al Qaeda, it was an vital conviction within the combat towards worldwide extremism. But for his supporters, lots of whom believed in his innocence, the case noticed an overreaction within the aftermath of September 11—the American judicial system.

Here’s a better take a look at the matter:

Who is Afia Siddiqui?

He is a Pakistani neuroscientist who studied at prestigious establishments within the United States of America – Brandeis University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He attracted the eye of US regulation enforcement within the years following the September 11 assaults. The high FBI and Justice Department described him as an “al-Qaeda operator and facilitator” in a May 2004 information convention, wherein he warned of intelligence exhibiting plans for an assault by al-Qaeda within the coming months .

In 2008, he was detained by the authorities in Afghanistan. US officers mentioned they discovered handwritten notes from him that mentioned the making of the so-called “dirty bomb” and listed numerous US areas that have been focused in a “mass casualty attack”. can go.

In this July 17, 2008 file photograph, Afiya Siddiqui is seen within the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department of Ghazni Province in Ghazni metropolis, Afghanistan. (AP)

Inside an interview room at an Afghan police compound, officers say, he grabbed a US Army officer’s M-4 rifle and opened fireplace on members of the US group assigned to interrogate him.

He was indicted in 2010 on prices together with trying to kill American residents outdoors the United States. During his sentencing hearings, he made belligerent statements wherein he delivered a message of world peace – and even pardoned the choose. She expressed dismay on the arguments of her personal legal professionals who mentioned she deserved leniency as she was mentally sick.

“I’m not crazy,” she mentioned at one level. “I don’t agree with that.”

What was the response?

Pakistani authorities instantly condemned the sentence, which led to protests in a number of cities and criticism within the media.

The then prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, known as her the “daughter of the nation” and vowed to marketing campaign for her launch from jail.

In the years that adopted, Pakistani leaders have overtly thought of swaps or offers that might end result of their launch.

Faizan Syed, government director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Dallas Fort-Worth Texas, mentioned the group regards Siddiqui as “caught in the war on terror” in addition to a political prisoner upon whom by faulty proof Wrong allegation was made. , H however strongly condemned the captivity, calling it incorrect, heinous and “something that is completely undermining our efforts to get Dr. IIFA released.”

He additionally has the assist of accused militants within the United States. An Ohio man who admitted he had plotted to kill US army members after receiving coaching in Syria additionally deliberate to maneuver to Texas and assault a federal jail the place Siddiqui can be held in an try to free him. Used to be. A person named Abdirahman Sheikh Mohammed was sentenced to 22 years in jail in 2018.

What’s contemporary on Siddiqui’s captivity?

Siddiqui is being held in a federal jail in Fort Worth, Texas. According to courtroom paperwork, in July he was attacked by one other prisoner and was severely injured.

In a lawsuit towards the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Siddiqui’s legal professionals mentioned that one other prisoner “broke a coffee mug full of hot liquid” in his face. When Siddiqui twisted herself right into a fetal place, the opposite lady started punching and kicking her, injuring her so severely that she needed to be taken in a wheelchair to the jail’s medical unit, the swimsuit says.

The lawsuit states that Siddiqui had burns in his eye and a three-inch mark close to his left eye. He additionally has bruises on his legs and arms and likewise has accidents on his cheeks.

The assault prompted protests by human rights activists and spiritual teams, demanding enhancements in jail situations. Activists have additionally known as on the Pakistani authorities to combat for his launch from US custody.

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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS

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