NEWS
Pakistan Wants Jailed Scientist Repatriated
Pakistani protesters carry photographs of Aafia Siddiqui during a march to support her in Karachi on September 23.
September 24, 2010
Pakistani authorities said today they were "saddened and disappointed" by a U.S. court's decision to sentence a Pakistani scientist to 86 years in prison for the attempted murder of U.S. officers, and would work to bring her home.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was quoted as saying that Aafia Siddiqui is "the daughter of the nation," vowing to campaign for her transfer to Pakistan.
Siddiqui, 38, an American-educated neuroscientist, was captured in Afghanistan in 2008.
Her case and the circumstances of her treatment have attracted considerable attention.
A U.S. court on September 23 found her guilty of seizing a weapon from a U.S. officer and trying to shoot at U.S. personnel who were seeking to interrogate her after her capture.
News of her sentencing sparked protests today in her home city of Karachi and at least two other cities. The Pakistani government has come under pressure at home, particularly from Islamist and right-wing groups, for failing to somehow secure her release.
compiled from agency reports (radio free europe radio liberty)
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Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was quoted as saying that Aafia Siddiqui is "the daughter of the nation," vowing to campaign for her transfer to Pakistan.
Siddiqui, 38, an American-educated neuroscientist, was captured in Afghanistan in 2008.
Her case and the circumstances of her treatment have attracted considerable attention.
A U.S. court on September 23 found her guilty of seizing a weapon from a U.S. officer and trying to shoot at U.S. personnel who were seeking to interrogate her after her capture.
News of her sentencing sparked protests today in her home city of Karachi and at least two other cities. The Pakistani government has come under pressure at home, particularly from Islamist and right-wing groups, for failing to somehow secure her release.
compiled from agency reports (radio free europe radio liberty)
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Pakistan vows to repatriate jailed scientist
MULTAN, Pakistan |
(Reuters) - Pakistan vowed on Friday to repatriate a scientist sentenced to an effective life term in the United States as hundreds of people protested against the ruling, denouncing their government and its ally Washington.
Many in Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the war against militants and where anti-U.S. sentiment also run high, believe Aafia Siddiqui, a 38-year-old neuroscientist, is innocent.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said his government, heavily criticized for its inept handling of the worst floods in the country's history, told parliament "no stone had been left unturned" to secure the return of the "daughter of the nation".
"I told them (the United States) that if you release Dr. Aafia Siddiqui then it will improve your public image, even if you decrease your financial assistance for Pakistan," he said.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman on Thursday sentenced Siddiqui to 86 years in prison after she was convicted in May of shooting at FBI agents and soldiers after her arrest in Afghanistan.
Protesters in the city of Multan burned U.S. flags and pictures of President Barack Obama and former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who many Pakistanis accuse of handing over Siddiqui to the United States.
In Karachi, police baton charged protesters as they tried to march toward the U.S. consulate. Some of the protesters were also detained, police said.
The Pakistani Taliban also threatened "retaliatory strikes" to secure Siddiqui's release, but the group, which has made similar threats before, has so far failed to successfully carry out any overseas attacks.
Siddiqui was arrested in July 2008 by Afghan police who said she was carrying two pounds (900 grams) of sodium cyanide and notes referring to mass-casualty attacks and New York landmarks. (reuters)
(Additional reporting by Faisal Aziz, Athar Hussain and Saud Mehsud; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Rebecca Conway)
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