Published: February 13, 2012

NEW YORK: Lawyers for Dr Aafia Siddiqui serving an 86-year prison sentence for shooting at US soldiers in Afghanistan told a New York Court that she should have been exempted from testifying due to mental illness.

They sought for dismissal of charges against her arguing there was no evidence that she in fact had shot at US authorities while in custody.

The arguments were made on Friday before the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Dr Aafia Siddiqui a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University, was termed a fugitive terror suspect after she left the US in 2003 and married a nephew of the 9/11 mastermind with ties to Al Qaeda.

Dr Siddiqui was detained in Afghanistan in 2008, a day after, she was wounded during a confrontation with US authorities who had gone to interrogate her. Six witnesses testified that she had grabbed a rifle and fired at the Americans.

Her lawyers argued that there was no evidence that Dr Siddiqui fired the gun at the authorities who were interrogating her. The court is expected to decide on the appeal within six months, legal experts here said.

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