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Al-Qaeda-Linked Attempted Murder Suspect Disrupts Trial, Again
By
Ben Muessig
Published Jan 19, 2010
Modified Jan 19, 2010
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By
Ben Muessig
Published Jan 19, 2010
Modified Jan 19, 2010
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The MIT- and Brandeis-educated neuroscientist accused of attempted murder for shooting at U.S. personnel in Afghanistan was thrown out of court just 90 minutes into her trial when she interrupted testimony with a rant. Aafia Siddiqui — who has already been reprimanded for her courtroom etiquette and once urged a judge to use genetic tests to make sure her jurors wouldn't be Jews — shouted: "I was never planning to bomb [New York]. You are lying."
According to the Post, the 37-year-old started shouting as Army Capt. Robert Snyder testified about her arrest after she was allegedly found with a handwritten note outlining plans to attack the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge, among other locations. According to NBC, her outbursts started earlier in the day when she turned to spectators before the trial began and stated: "The President has to talk to me and this is the last opportunity I have once I'm sentenced … God, it's important, and please don't ignore me for the sake of God and this beautiful country."
While in custody, Siddiqui is accused of grabbing an Army rifle and firing it at FBI agents and soldiers in an interrogation room — though her fingerprints weren't found on the gun. Her attorney told the jury: "You're not going to find any physical evidence that it was fired in that room." The Pakistan native's trial had been delayed due to psychiatric exams, most of which reportedly "concluded that she was faking mental illness." Though she wants to keep Jews off the jury, she claimed today she isn't anti-Semitic. "It's just blame and label, blame and label," she said.
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Aafia Siddiqui
attempted murder
bomb
court
courtroom
judge
rifle
suspect
terror
terror trial
thrown out of court
Ben Muessig
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