New York: A US-educated Pakistani woman was found guilty on Wednesday of trying to kill American servicemen in Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui, 37, a neuroscientist trained at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found guilty on all charges by a jury in federal court.
A family lawyer immediately announced an appeal, citing "prejudice and bias”.
Siddiqui was accused of grabbing a rifle at an Afghan police station where she was being interrogated in July 2008 and trying to gun down a group of US servicemen.
Although she was not charged with terrorism, prosecutors described her as a would-be terrorist who had also plotted to bomb New York.
Her lawyers tried to prove she was insane, but a judge ruled her fit to stand trial.
Tina Monshipour, an attorney for Siddiqui`s family, said afterwards: "This verdict is being subject to an appeal."
"There were a lot of unfair decisions," Monshipour said. "She was portrayed as a terrorist even if there were no terrorism charges in this trial. This is one of those cases in which we see prejudice and bias invading the courtroom."
Siddiqui, wearing a white veil, repeatedly disrupted her trial with outbursts at the jury, witnesses and her own lawyers, including claims that she was a victim of Israel.
One of the principle witnesses, Captain Jack Snyder, previously told the court that the gun was pointed straight at his head and being able to see in the barrel of the gun. "I used the arms of my chair to spring out of my seat and get out of the line of the fire," he said.
During the initial stages of the trial, the defendant refused to cooperate with the court, boycotting her own defence team and interrupting the proceedings several times following which she was removed from the court.
However, Siddiqui testified in her defence last week and told the court the charges against her were a big lie and that she was shot trying to escape from the room.
The prosecution had asserted that Siddiqui had fiercely struggled against the officers when they tried to pin her down. The defence had rebutted this several times by pointing out that it was ludicrous to suggest that the petite and frail defendant could not have fought off men twice her size.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained scientist is also believed to have al Qaeda sympathies but this case had no terror related charges.
Siddiqui left for Pakistan from US in 2002. The following year she disappeared from Pakistan and suddenly resurfaced in 2008 in front of the governor`s house.
During the trial, she hinted several times that she had been detained by US authorities during this time. Her children are still missing.
PTI
