Pakistani al Qaeda suspect refuses U.S. strip search

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Pakistani woman suspected of links to al Qaeda has refused a strip search, delaying her trial in New York on charges she grabbed a U.S. soldier's gun in Afghanistan and tried to kill her American interrogators.

Aafia Siddiqui, 36, a U.S.-trained neuroscientist who was shot in the abdomen during the incident, was brought to the United States a month ago to face federal charges of attempted murder and assault.

She was due to appear in Manhattan federal court on Thursday where her lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, said Siddiqui was "unbelievably damaged" and in need of psychological care. The lawyer also denied allegations that Siddiqui was plotting to attack New York City landmarks.

Fink said Siddiqui repeatedly refused to be strip-searched, a security procedure requiring inmates to undress and squat in front of guards. As a consequence, Siddiqui had not had contact with her lawyers in a month, Fink said.

Without the search she cannot be brought to court.

Fink said federal authorities should treat Siddiqui, who trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as someone who may have been the victim of torture.

"We believe that this woman was kidnapped with her children in March of 2003 and that she has been held in custody by either Pakistani authorities or Americans in any of their dark side areas," Fink told the judge.

Human rights groups had declared Siddiqui missing for five years before the incident in July, when she was arrested outside the governor's office in Afghanistan's Ghazni province.