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NEW YORK — An American-educated Pakistani woman who has been labeled an al-Qaeda supporter refused to appear in federal court Thursday to answer charges that she tried to kill U.S. soldiers and FBI agents after they detained her in Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui had been expected to plead not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault. Siddiqui’s attorneys told a judge she didn’t want to go through the humiliation of the strip-search all prisoners undergo between federal lockups and courthouses.
The lawyers also contended Siddiqui had been kept in secret captivity in Pakistan. The ordeal, they said, left her with physical and mental problems.
