United States' first female Muslim judge found dead in Hudson River العثور على أول قاضية مسلمة غارقة في نهر هدسون بنيويورك

United States' first female Muslim judge found dead in Hudson River

الشرطة الأمريكية: العثور على أول قاضية مسلمة غارقة في نهر هدسون بنيويورك

Sheila Abdus-Salaam looks on as members of the state Senate Judiciary Committee vote unanimously to advance her nomination to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeals at the Capitol in Albany, NY, in 2013

أعلنت شرطة مدينة نيويورك عثورها على أول امرأة مسلمة تعمل قاضية غارقة في نهر هدسون في نيويورك.

A groundbreaking African-American legal expert who became the first Muslim woman to serve as a US judge was found dead in New York's Hudson River on Wednesday, police said.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a 65-year-old associate judge of New York's highest court, was found floating off Manhattan's west side on Wednesday afternoon, a day after she was reported missing, a police spokesman said.

Police pulled Abdus-Salaam's fully clothed body from the water and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

ونقل عن الشرطة قولها إنها عثرت على شيلا عبدالسلام (65 عاما)، وهي قاضية سوداء في المحكمة العليا بنيويورك عثر عليها طافية قبالة الجانب الغربي من مانهاتن.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, centre, receives applause after her confirmation to serve on the New York State Court of Appeals

Police said her body showed no obvious signs of trauma, and they declined to speculate on the cause of her death. Her family identified her and an autopsy will determine the cause of death, the spokesman said.

Abdus-Salaam, a native of Washington, DC, became the first African-American woman appointed to the Court of Appeals when Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo named her to the state's high court in 2013.

وانتشلت الشرطة جثة عبدالسلام في كامل ملابسها من المياه وأعلنت عن وفاتها في الحال. وقال المتحدث إن أسرتها تعرفت عليها وإن سبب الوفاة سيتحدد بعد تشريح الجثة.

"Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all," Mr Cuomo said in a statement.

"As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the state's Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer," he added. "Through her writings, her wisdom and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come."

"Deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Sheila Abdus-Salaam. She was a humble pioneer. My thoughts are with her family," said Bill de Blasio, the New York mayor, on Twitter.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History said Abdus-Salaam was the first female Muslim to serve as a US judge.

وأصبحت القاضية شيلا عبدالسلام، وهي من مواليد العاصمة واشنطن، أول امرأة أمريكية من أصل أفريقي تعين في محاكم الاستئناف عندما عينها الحاكم الديمقراطي ماريو كومو في المحكمة العليا في الولاية في 2013.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said her colleague will be "missed deeply."

"Her personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her," DiFiore said.

وقال كومو في بيان "القاضية شيلا عبدالسلام كانت محلفة رائدة كرست حياتها في الخدمة العامة لكي تكون نيويورك أكثر إنصافا وعدلا للجميع".

وذكرت موسوعة جامعة برنستون للتاريخ السياسي الأمريكي أن عبدالسلام أول امرأة مسلمة تعمل قاضية.

وجاء على موقع محكمة الاستئناف على الإنترنت أن عبدالسلام، التي تخرجت من كلية القانون بجامعة كولومبيا، بدأت عملها في مهنة المحاماة مع مؤسسة ليجال سيرفسيز في إيست بروكلين وعملت مساعدة للمدعي العام لولاية نيويورك.

Former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said he knew Abdus-Salaam for many years. He said her death of was "difficult to understand".

وتقلدت سلسلة من المناصب القضائية بعد انتخابها في مركز للقضاة في مدينة نيويورك عام 1991.

"The court has suffered a terrible blow," he said.

A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia Law School, Abdus-Salaam started her law career with East Brooklyn Legal Services and served as a New York state assistant attorney general, according to the Court of Appeals website.

ولم يعرف السبب وراء وفاتها، إذ ما تزال الشرطة تحقق في ملابسات الحادث.

She held a series of judicial posts after being elected to a New York City judgeship in 1991.

The cause of her death was not known, as the police were still investigating the incident.