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Citing Alleged US Torture, Attorney Seeks Mental Evaluation for Pakistani Prisoner

HeadlineSep 05, 2008

Attorneys for an American-educated Pakistani woman accused of trying to kill US personnel say years of imprisonment and torture may have left her mentally incompetent. Aafia Siddiqui is accused of trying to open fire on several FBI agents who had come to question her in Afghanistan. The FBI also says she had documents on making chemical bombs and a list of potential targets in the United States. But Afghan witnesses say US personnel shot Siddiqui following a misunderstanding that saw her initially asking them for help. On Thursday, defense attorney Elizabeth Fink asked a federal judge to order a full mental evaluation. Siddiqui disappeared in March 2003, just weeks after the FBI announced it sought her for questioning. There has been speculation she was captured by Pakistani troops and handed over to the US and held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Fink says she believes Siddiqui may have been released in a deliberate effort to set up the confrontation that got her arrested.

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