1. Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani neuroscientist and educator who gained international attention following her conviction in the United States and is currently serving an 86-year sentence for attempted murder and other felonies at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Aafia Siddiqui was shot in the torso when a warrant officer returned fire.
Aafia Siddiqui was hospitalized, treated and then extradited to the US, where in September 2008 she was indicted on charges of assault and attempted murder of a US soldier in the police station in Ghazni, charges she denied.
Aafia Siddiqui was convicted on 3 February 2010 and later sentenced to 86 years in prison.
Aafia Siddiqui's case has been called a "flashpoint of Pakistani-American tensions", and "one of the most mysterious in a secret war dense with mysteries".
Aafia Siddiqui has been termed "Lady al-Qaeda" by a number of media organizations due to her alleged affiliation with Islamists.
Aafia Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan, to Muhammad Salay Siddiqui, a British-trained neurosurgeon, and Ismet, an Islamic teacher, social worker and charity volunteer.
Aafia Siddiqui belongs to the Urdu-speaking Muhajir, Deobandi community of Karachi.
Aafia Siddiqui was raised in an observant Muslim household, although her parents combined devotional Islam with their resolve to understand and use technological advances in science.
Ismet Aafia Siddiqui was prominent in political and religious circles, teaching classes on Islam wherever she lived, founding a United Islamic Organization, and serving as a member of Pakistan's parliament.
Aafia Siddiqui's brother, Muhammad, studied to become an architect in Houston, Texas, while her sister, Fowzia, is a Harvard-trained neurologist who worked at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore and taught at Johns Hopkins University before she returned to Pakistan.
Aafia Siddiqui attended school in Zambia until the age of eight and finished her primary and secondary schooling in Karachi.
Aafia Siddiqui moved to Houston, Texas, US on a student visa in 1990, joining her brother who was studying architecture.
Aafia Siddiqui attended the University of Houston where friends and family described her interests as limited to religion and schoolwork.
Aafia Siddiqui avoided movies, novels and television, except for the news.
In 1992, as a sophomore, Siddiqui won a $5,000 Carroll L Wilson Award for her research proposal "Islamization in Pakistan and its Effects on Women".
Aafia Siddiqui returned to Pakistan to interview architects of the Islamization and the Hudood Laws, including Taqi Usmani, the spiritual adviser to her family.
Aafia Siddiqui joined the Muslim Students' Association, and a fellow Pakistani recalls her recruiting for association meetings and distributing pamphlets.
Aafia Siddiqui began doing volunteer work for the Al Kifah Refugee Center after returning from Pakistan.
Aafia Siddiqui was known for her effectiveness in shaming audiences into contributing to jihad and the only woman known to have regularly raised money for Al-Kifah.
Aafia Siddiqui gave birth to a son, Muhammad Ahmed, in 1996, and to a daughter, Mariam Bint-e Muhammad, in 1998.
Aafia Siddiqui received her PhD in 2001 after completing her dissertation on learning through imitation titled Separating the Components of Imitation.
Aafia Siddiqui co-authored a journal article on selective learning that was published in 2003.
Aafia Siddiqui began translating biographies of Arab Afghan shahid written by Abdullah Yusuf Azzam.
In 1999, while living in Boston, Aafia Siddiqui founded the Institute of Islamic Research and Teaching as a nonprofit organization.
Aafia Siddiqui was the organization's president, her husband treasurer, and her sister resident agent.
Aafia Siddiqui attended a mosque outside the city where she stored copies of the Quran and other Islamic literature for distribution.
Aafia Siddiqui co-founded the Dawa Resource Center, which offered faith-based services to prison inmates.
Aafia Siddiqui temporarily moved away from her husband after he threw a baby bottle at her that required a visit to the emergency room to stitch up her lip.
Once back in Pakistan, Aafia Siddiqui demanded that the family move to the border with Afghanistan and Khan work as a medic to help the Taliban mujahideen in their fight against America.
Aafia Siddiqui agreed to return to him in the United States in January 2002 after he agreed to her conditions including that he join her in Islamic activities.
Aafia Siddiqui later told authorities he purchased them to please Siddiqui.
The couple made an appointment to talk to the FBI again in a few weeks, but, according to Khan, Aafia Siddiqui insisted the family leave for Pakistan, and on 26 June 2002, the couple and their children returned to Karachi.
Shortly after, Aafia Siddiqui's father died of a heart attack, an event blamed on Khan and the marriage difficulties he and Aafia Siddiqui were having.
In September 2002, Aafia Siddiqui gave birth to Suleman, the last of their three children.
In February 2003, Aafia Siddiqui married Ammar al-Baluchi, an accused al-Qaeda member and a nephew of al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in Karachi.
Aafia Siddiqui left for the US on 25 December 2002, informing her ex-husband Amjad Mohammed Khan that she was looking for a job; she returned on 2 January 2003.
Aafia Siddiqui later stated he was suspicious of her explanation as universities were on winter break.
Aafia Siddiqui told the FBI that she agreed to open the post box and mail the application because he was a family friend.
Aafia Siddiqui testified that back in the US Siddiqui "opened a post office box in detainee's name, using her driver's licence information".
Aafia Siddiqui's lawyer suggested she had been the victim of identity theft while her sister Fowzia has maintained the post office box was intended for use in applying for jobs at American universities.
The identification of Aafia Siddiqui was made three years after the incident by one of the go-betweens in the Liberian deal.
Aafia Siddiqui's lawyer maintained credit card receipts and other records showed that she was in Boston at the time.
In early 2003, while Aafia Siddiqui was working at Aga Khan University in Karachi, she emailed a former professor at Brandeis and expressed interest in working in the US, citing lack of options in Karachi for women of her academic background.
Aafia Siddiqui was accused of being a "courier of blood diamonds and a financial fixer for al-Qaida".
Aafia Siddiqui told the FBI she met with Mufti Abu Lubaba Shah Mansoor, and according to the FBI had begun collecting materials on viruses for biological warfare.
Aafia Siddiqui told Afghan investigators that on 14 August 2008 they had traveled by road from Quetta to Afghanistan.
An Afghan intelligence official said he believes that Aafia Siddiqui was working with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistani Islamic mujahideen military group that fights in Kashmir and Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui said he again saw her two years later, in a Karachi traffic jam.
Aafia Siddiqui told her he was no longer in touch with them.
Aafia Siddiqui notified his sister, Siddiqui's mother, who came the next day to see her daughter.
Aafia Siddiqui said that Siddiqui stayed with them for two days.
Faruqi, Aafia Siddiqui's uncle, reported that Aafia Siddiqui visited him in January 2008, telling him she had been imprisoned and tortured at Bagram Airfield for several years and released to serve as a double agent infiltrating extremist groups.
Aafia Siddiqui has not explained clearly what happened to her other two children.
Aafia Siddiqui told one FBI agent that pursuing the cause of jihad had to take priority.
Aafia Siddiqui said that they had been seen in her sister's house in Karachi and in Islamabad since 2003.
The mass of secret US cables released in 2010 by Wikileaks included memos by the US Embassy in Islamabad Pakistan asking other United States government departments whether Aafia Siddiqui had been in secret custody.
The US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W Patterson, stated that Siddiqui had not been in US custody "at any time" prior to July 2008.
Aafia Siddiqui was on the CIA's list of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists it was authorized to "kill or capture".
Aafia Siddiqui knows how to enroll in American educational institutions.
Aafia Siddiqui later destroyed her work after suspecting Abu Lubab was hoping to double cross her and turn her into the United States authorities.
Aafia Siddiqui was holding two small bags at her side while crouching on the ground.
Aafia Siddiqui was accompanied by a young boy that she said was her adopted son.
Aafia Siddiqui said her name was Saliha, that she was from Multan in Pakistan, and that the boy's name was Ali Hassan.
Aafia Siddiqui told the police she was looking for her husband, needed no help, and started to walk away.
Aafia Siddiqui was arrested and taken to the police station for questioning.
Aafia Siddiqui initially claimed the boy was her stepson, Ali Hassan.
Aafia Siddiqui subsequently admitted he was her biological son when DNA testing proved the boy to be Ahmed.
Aafia Siddiqui reportedly had documents about American military bases, excerpts from a bombmaking manual, a one-gigabyte digital media storage device that contained over 500 electronic documents, maps of Ghazni and the provincial governor's compounds and nearby mosques, and photos of members of the Pakistani military.
Aafia Siddiqui had "numerous chemical substances in gel and liquid form that were sealed in bottles and glass jars", according to the later complaint against her, and about two pounds of sodium cyanide, a highly toxic poison.
Aafia Siddiqui drew back the curtain, picked up the rifle, and pointed it at the captain.
Aafia Siddiqui related a different version of events, according to Pakistani senators who later visited her in jail.
Aafia Siddiqui denied touching a gun, shouting, or threatening anyone.
Aafia Siddiqui said she stood up to see who was on the other side of the curtain, and that after one of the startled soldiers shouted "she is loose", she was shot.
Aafia Siddiqui was taken to US military base Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan by helicopter in critical condition.
Aafia Siddiqui was hospitalised at the Craig Theater Joint Hospital, and recovered over the next two weeks.
Aafia Siddiqui's testimony was at odds with what Siddiqui later told lawyers and the court about what happened during her disappearance.
Aafia Siddiqui later told visiting Pakistani her statements might not look good to the Pakistani public but she had made them because her children had been threatened.
Aafia Siddiqui maintained she could prove she was innocent but refused to do so in court.
On 11 January 2010, Aafia Siddiqui told the judge that she would not co-operate with her attorneys and wanted to fire them.
On 4 August 2008, Aafia Siddiqui was placed on an FBI jet and flown to New York City after the Afghan government granted extradition to the United States for trial.
Aafia Siddiqui made her first appearance before a judge in a Manhattan courtroom on 6 August 2008 following which she was remanded into custody.
Prosecutors maintained that Aafia Siddiqui had received adequate medical care for her gunshot wound but could not confirm whether she had been seen by a doctor or paramedic.
Aafia Siddiqui was provided care for her wound while incarcerated in the United States.
In September 2008, a prosecutor reported to the court that Aafia Siddiqui had refused to be examined by a female doctor, despite the doctor's extensive efforts.
In November 2008, forensic psychologist Leslie Powers reported that Aafia Siddiqui had been "reluctant to allow medical staff to treat her".
Aafia Siddiqui's trial was subject to delays, the longest being six months to perform psychiatric evaluations.
Aafia Siddiqui underwent three sets of psychological assessments before trial.
Aafia Siddiqui tried to dismiss her lawyers on the grounds that they were Jewish.
Aafia Siddiqui said the case against her was a Jewish conspiracy, demanded that no Jews be allowed on the jury, and that all prospective jurors be DNA-tested and excluded from the jury at her trial "if they have a Zionist or Israeli background".
Aafia Siddiqui later claimed she was not against all "Israeli Americans".
Aafia Siddiqui's defence argued that there was no forensic evidence that the rifle was fired in the interrogation room.
Aafia Siddiqui said she had been "tortured in secret prisons" before her arrest by a "group of people pretending to be Americans, doing bad things in America's name".
Aafia Siddiqui insisted on testifying at the trial against the advice of her lawyers.
On 3 February 2010, Aafia Siddiqui was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying a firearm, and three counts of assault on US officers and employees.
Aafia Siddiqui faced a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison on the firearm charge, and could have received a sentence of up to 20 years for each attempted murder and armed assault charge, and up to 8 years on each of the remaining assault counts.
Aafia Siddiqui's lawyers requested a 12-year sentence, instead of the life sentence recommended by the probation office.
Aafia Siddiqui's lawyers claimed her mental illness was on display during her trial outbursts and boycotts, and that she was "first and foremost" the victim of her own irrational behaviour.
Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison by Judge Berman on 23 September 2010.
Aafia Siddiqui said she forgave the soldier who had shot her, as well as the judge.
Aafia Siddiqui was originally held at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.
Aafia Siddiqui is being held in Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, a federal prison for female inmates with special mental health needs, and relatively close to the home of her brother Ali Siddiqui.
Aafia Siddiqui was visited by her sister Fowzia Siddiqui in May 2023, accompanied by human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith and Jamaat-e-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan.
Aafia Siddiqui reported that the statement was taken from Ahmed by an American official when he was released.
Aafia Siddiqui was identified in the email as one of the Muslim "sisters" the Islamic State was purportedly willing to swap as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.
In February 2015, Paul Gosar said the family of Kayla Mueller had been told plans to swap her for Aafia Siddiqui were underway in the months before her death.
In January 2022, a man claiming to be Aafia Siddiqui's brother took hostages at the Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, near where she is imprisoned, and demanded her release.
Aafia Siddiqui was later shot and killed by police, and the hostages were rescued.
Aafia Siddiqui's sister has spoken frequently and passionately on her behalf at rallies.
Aafia Siddiqui's conviction was followed with expressions of support by many Pakistanis, who appeared increasingly anti-American, as well as by politicians and the news media, who characterised her as a symbol of victimisation by the United States.
Graffiti "Free Dr Aafia Siddiqui" appeared "even in remote areas" of the country.
Aafia Siddiqui's family has been portraying Aafia as a victim.
Aafia Siddiqui, who is suspected of having had links to Al Qaeda and the banned jihadi group Jaish-e-Muhammad.
Many Aafia Siddiqui supporters were present during the proceedings, and outside the court dozens of people rallied to demand her release.
Aafia Siddiqui said that the case of Siddiqui had become a matter of public concern in Pakistan and her repatriation would create goodwill for the US.
In July 2019, after meeting with United States President Donald Trump, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told the media that releasing Shakeel Afridi in exchange for Aafia Siddiqui was a possibility.
On 17 September 2024, Aafia Siddiqui's lawyers filed a clemency petition with President Joe Biden, seeking her release, or her exchange for Dr Shakeel Afridi.