An official for the holding facility
where neuroscientist Doctor
Aafia Siddiqui is serving
her prison sentence denied
rumours of her death on June
20, reports The Express
Tribune. Speaking to the
media, Doctor Maria Douglas,
a spokesperson for Federal
Medical Center Carswell in
Fort Worth, Texas, where Doctor
Siddiqui is imprisoned, vehemently
denied rumours and said that
it was absolutely false that
Doctor Siddiqui had passed
away, adding that no medical
emergency has arisen. Earlier,
text messages were circulating
in Pakistan claiming that Doctor Siddiqui had passed away at the
prison facility.
Doctor Siddiqui, a neuroscientist by
profession and a graduate
of Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT), allegedly
went missing for five years
before she was discovered
in Afghanistan. The prosecution
says that she tried to fire
on a United States (US) soldier
during her interrogation.
She has also been accused
of working for al Qaeda. She
was sentenced to 86 years
in prison in 2010 by a New
York court.
A statement issued by the Embassy of
Pakistan also confirmed that
Doctor Siddiqui was alive
and quite well. |
