"Lady al-Qaeda": This is the terrorist scientist whose abduction was demanded by the kidnapper from a synagogue in Texas

Pakistani Afia Sadiki was convicted more than a decade ago of attempting to murder American soldiers, and has since been held in a detention facility.

Various terrorist organizations have demanded her release over the years in exchange for abductees, but the US has flatly rejected it.

News agencies

16/01/2022

Sunday, 16 January 2022, 10:33

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A photograph from 2003 of Dr. Afia Sadiki (Photo: AP)

The kidnapper's demand from a Texas synagogue to release from prison Pakistani scientist Afia Sadiki, who is serving an 86-year sentence, has returned to the headlines the name of the so-called "Lady al-Qaeda."

Sadiki, 49, was for a time considered the most dangerous terrorist in the world, and terrorist organizations such as ISIS and the Taliban have demanded her release over the years as part of prisoner deals.

However, the United States rejected it outright each time, and Sadiki remained incarcerated in the well-maintained facility in Texas where she is being held.

The hunt for her began in 2003.

She disappeared for many years, and after being captured was sentenced to decades in prison for attempted murder of Americans in Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, many demonstrations were held demanding its release, and for a number of terrorist attacks, a group calling itself the Afia Sidiki Brigades claimed responsibility.

More on Walla!

A man takes over a synagogue in Texas;

At the end of 12 hours - hostages were released, the kidnapper was killed

To the full article

Sadiki was born in the city of Karachi and grew up in a middle-class family, and in 2001 she left for the United States to study. Her mother was a Member of Parliament and the family had doctors who studied in the UK. She was interrogated in 2002 after she purchased copyrights and night-vision equipment online, for a cumulative $ 6,000.

Demonstration demanding the release of Dr. Afia Sadiki - Karachi, Pakistan, March 2011 (Photo: AP)

During her interrogation by the FBI, she said that "this is equipment for a hunting trip."

Her first husband said after he divorced her that she had "become too extreme," and testified how she approached jihadist activists.

Her second husband is the nephew of the twin tower architect, Khaled Sheikh Muhammad.

She studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received a doctorate in neuroscience from Brandeis University.

By 2003, she had already appeared on the FBI's ten most wanted list.

In 2008, she was arrested in Afghanistan, carrying sodium cyanide, and documents detailing instructions for making chemical weapons and "dirty bombs," as well as a guide to the distribution of Ebola.

During her trial, she demanded that the jury perform DNA tests to prove they were not Jews and she also sent antisemitic letters from prison to former President Barack Obama.

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