Attorneys representing Al Qaeda-linked attempted murder suspect Aafia Siddiqui shocked a Manhattan courtroom today when they unveiled video evidence showing that two purported bullet holes in the wall of an interrogation room were there the day before their client allegedly picked up a rifle and shot at U.S. personnel. "The government says you can't press 'pause' in this case, but you can, because we have the video and we pressed 'pause,'" said lawyer Linda Moreno, as jurors looked at a still frame from a televised news conference after Siddiqui's arrest.
According to the Post, the footage—produced the day before the outburst-prone neuroscientist allegedly shot at American soldiers and FBI agents in a police station in Afghanistan—clearly shows the two small holes, which prosecution witnesses said were evidence that Siddiqui opened fire. Siddiqui's attorneys say the video, alongside the fact her fingerprints were never found on the weapon, mean there is no evidence the M4 was "touched by Dr. Siddiqui, let alone fired by her," and that the prosecution wants to "scare you into convicting Aafia Siddiqui." The 37-year-old was reportedly arrested with bomb-making notes and was wounded after grabbing a rifle and trying to shoot Americans in 2008, though she denies all wrongdoing and says she was detained for years and held in "secret prisons."
Prosecutors say her shots might have struck furniture that was moved out of the room before the FBI arrived to investigate six days later. "Forensic science is an imperfect tool in this circumstance....You don't have a good enough physical or photographic record of that room to know where the damage is," said prosecutor David Rody, who also suggested Afghan personnel might have hidden the shell casings to cover up the "terribly embarrassing incident." Prosecutors claim the differences between eyewitness accounts "are the hallmark of the truth" because they prove the witnesses didn't conspire to frame Siddiqui, and that for jurors to acquit Siddiqui, they would have to conclude that government witnesses "lied to your face," according to 1010WINS.
