Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist convicted of attempting to assassinate an FBI agent in 2010, requested a presidential pardon from US President Joe Biden before handing over office to President-elect Donald Trump.
Siddiqui, 52, maintains his innocence and says new evidence could support his theory.
She was sentenced to 86 years in prison for an incident in Afghanistan in which she allegedly attacked an FBI agent while in custody.
His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, submitted a detailed brief to President Biden urging him to grant clemency, arguing that intelligence failures led to his wrongful conviction.
He claims Siddiqui was kidnapped by Pakistani intelligence in 2003 and handed over to the CIA, who then tortured her.
Despite the controversy surrounding his case, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou and others insist that Siddiqui had ties to al-Qaeda and was an important figure in their network.
However, Siddiqui’s family continues to maintain that she was the victim of injustice, and her sister, Fowzia, has campaigned for her release for almost two decades.
With Biden’s term ending soon, there are concerns that Siddiqui won’t receive the help she’s seeking before Trump’s inauguration.
His legal team is hoping for immediate intervention to avoid his prolonged imprisonment.
How did Dr. Aafia Siddiqui end up in Texas?
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s case began in 2003 after the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the mastermind of 9/11 Al-Qaeda. Siddiqui, who was reportedly married to KSM’s nephew, disappeared with her children in Karachi, later earning the title “Lady of Al-Qaeda” due to her alleged links to Al-Qaeda.
In 2008, she was arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of transporting sodium cyanide and planning attacks on U.S. targets. During his interrogation, Siddiqui allegedly grabbed a rifle from a US soldier and attempted to shoot US agents. She was injured during this operation and subsequently showed signs of serious mistreatment.
Siddiqui’s son was released in Afghanistan, while the whereabouts of his other two children are unknown. In 2010, she was convicted of attempted murder in the United States and sentenced to 86 years in prison, although she was never charged with direct links to terrorism.
