Woman accused of al-Qaida links appears in court
Wednesday, 06 Aug 2008 12:10
Aafia Siddiqui appeared in court on Tuesday
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A woman accused of having links to al-Qaida has appeared in court charged with attempting to murder US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui, 36, did not enter a plea and is due to reappear at the federal court in Manhattan on Monday.
The 36-year-old was shot and injured last month while allegedly trying to shoot at a group of US troops in the Ghanzi province.
Still suffering from her injuries she had to be helped into the New York courtroom on Tuesday to hear the charges.
US officials believe Ms Siddiqui, who studied neuroscience in the United States in the 1990s, is an al-Qaida operative.
Her defence team maintains, however, that she has been held captive for the last five years in a secret prison and claim she was physically incapable of assaulting the soldiers.
Prosecutors allege she married a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man who controversially confessed to planning the September 11th terrorist attacks, when she returned to
Pakistan.
In 2004, the FBI described her as an "al-Qaida operative and facilitator who posed a clear and present danger to America".