The New York Criminal Law Blog

Aafia Siddiqui Boycotts Trial Over Jury Pool

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In the criminal trial of Aafia Siddiqui, the woman accused of "picking up an M-4 Army rifle and firing two rounds at a team of Americans who tried to question her in Afghanistan on July 18, 2008," she has been boycotting the proceedings.

The New York Daily News writes that one of her biggest complaints is having Jewish people on the jury. As of Thursday, Siddiqui said, "If they have a Zionist or Israeli background... they are all mad at me... They should be excluded if you want to be fair."

In addition to her jury pool, she also does not trust her defensive team.

Some might credit her outbursts and difficulties, including missing a court appearance because she refused to be strip searched, to her mental state.

Her lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, claims that her client needs to have her mental health evaluated to see if she can stand trial. Fink says, "She's a really smart person, but she's a mess" (New York Daily News).

In additional to the attempted murder charge, Siddiqui is accused of having notes that list New York targets: the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, the Empire State Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge.


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