Pakistani neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui had requested outgoing United States President Joe Biden to grant her a presidential pardon before Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The plea, made through her lawyer Clive Stafford, was accompanied by a 76,500-word dossier, which Siddiqui’s legal team claimed could help prove her innocence.
In an interview with British media, Dr Siddiqui had expressed hope that the new evidence would lead to her release. “I have suffered from injustice and endured pain every day. It has not been easy, but Inshallah, one day I will be freed from this torment,” she had stated.
Clive Stafford, her lawyer, also shared optimism about the possibility of a presidential pardon for Dr Siddiqui, highlighting the recent developments in her case.
The timing of the appeal was significant, as Biden’s presidency was set to end the following day, with Trump’s inauguration scheduled for 20 January.
According to reports, President Biden had already pardoned 39 individuals, including his son, by that point.
Dr Siddiqui, 52, had been sentenced to 86 years in prison in 2010 after being convicted of attempting to allegedly kill an FBI agent in Afghanistan.
She had been accused of having links with the Al-Qaeda leadership and had been incarcerated in the US since 2010.
