al-Qaeda suspect – ‘No Jews on my jury!’

In a possible foretaste of the future Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial, an al-Qaeda linked neuroscientist on trial in New York for attempted murder is turning the courtroom into a circus. Aafia Siddiqui has demanded that jurors be DNA tested for possible Jewish ancestry, shouted at the judge that Israel was behind September 11th and pleaded for a private audience with President Obama.

Aafia Siddiqui, a 37-year-old Pakistani MIT graduate and mother of three, is on trial for shooting at two FBI agents in Afghanistan in 2008. Siddiqui fled the United States to Afghanistan in 2003, shortly after marrying al-Qaeda operative Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali. Ali is the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the cousin of 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef.

The FBI agents, who normally do not operate abroad, were allegedly in Afghanistan to find information on terrorist plots against American targets. The United States Army claims that when Siddiqui was taken into custody, she was found to have two pounds of cyanide and information on chemical, biological and radiological weapons on her person.

Siddiqui’s badass factor goes further. According to the United States government, the attempted murder happened after she was taken into custody for questioning. While in questioning, Siddiqui apparently grabbed an M4 rifle from a solider and opened fire on the FBI team. Luckily, she was a bad shot.

So here’s a rundown of the media circus to date:

1. Siddiqui demanded on January 15th that jurors undergo genetic testing to prove their non-Jewishness:

Aafia Siddiqui called for jurors to undergo genetic testing in an outburst in federal court in Manhattan yesterday. “If they have a Zionist or Israeli background… they are all mad at me,” Ms Siddiqui, an American-educated neuroscientist, said. “I have a feeling everyone here is them [sic] — subject to genetic testing. They should be excluded if you want to be fair,” she told the judge.

2. Siddiqui told the judge she was boycotting her trial:

Ms Siddiqui, who wore a white scarf covering her face in court, vowed not to co-operate with the trial. “I’m boycotting the trial, just to let all of you know,” she said. “There’s too many injustices [...] I’m out of this,” she added. After the judge thanked her, she put her head down on the defence table and went silent as prosecutors flashed a photograph of her face on a television monitor. “I don’t trust you,” she told the judge at one point before the potential jurors packed the courtroom.

3. On Sunday, Siddiqui was ejected from the courtroom after shouting about September 11th to the judge:

Accused “terror mom” Aafia Siddiqui was booted from court yesterday after ranting that she had “nothing to do with 9/11.” The alleged al Qaeda associate shouted as US marshals hauled her out of Manhattan federal court, “The next question is going to be on anti-Semitism, and all I said was Israel was behind 9/11, and that’s not anti-Semitism!”

4. Yesterday, Siddiqui was ejected from court after begging the judge for an audience with President Obama:

Aafia Siddiqui, whom the FBI had sought for years for suspected ties to al Qaeda, shouted, “I was never planning to bomb [New York]. You are lying.” Siddiqui’s rant was aimed at Army Capt. Robert Snyder, who was testifying in Manhattan federal court that she had been arrested with a handwritten note outlining plans to attack the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street. While Snyder testified, it took the outburst-prone Siddiqui just 90 minutes into her trial to disrupt the proceedings. That’s when she stood up and shouted, “Since I’ll never get a chance to speak” — before continuing her tirade with a plea of innocence. She had stayed mostly silent during opening statements. Earlier in the day, even before the trial began, Siddiqui had an outburst. “The president has to meet with me,” she said, after turning to the gallery while the judge asked her a series of questions. “It’s important!”

What observers are now wondering is whether Siddiqui is generally unstable or mentally ill, or whether it is all just a ruse to escape trial. The behavior of Vincient Gigante, the mafia boss who faked mental illness for decades, might serve as a precedent.

Ironically, Sidiqqui, who is obsessed with “anti-Semitism” and “Zionism”… obtained her Ph.D from Brandeis University — perhaps the most Jewish-identified university in America.