Aafia Siddiqui, 38, was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 by Afghan police who said she was carrying 900 grams (2 pounds) of sodium cyanide and crumpled notes referring to mass-casualty attacks and New York landmarks.
She was found guilty in a U.S. court on charges she grabbed a rifle and fired at American interrogators as she was wrestled to the ground, and was sentenced in September to life in prison.
"The path is clear, whoever wants to free Aafia Siddiqui and retaliate against those who assaulted her and every Muslim woman should ... support the mujahideen and join them," said a speaker identified as al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri on the audio recording, posted on Islamist websites Thursday.
Addressing Pakistanis, he said: "The time for action has come: your governments and army leaders have turned you into a people without dignity, without integrity ... and without even value," said the speaker, whose sounded like Zawahri.
Many in Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the war against militants where anti-U.S. sentiments run high, believe Siddiqui, who studied in the United States, is innocent.
Her conviction was widely criticised in Pakistan, where many also believe she was mistreated while being jailed in Afghanistan and later in the United States.
Washington believes Zawahri, deputy to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is hiding with other senior al Qaeda figures in mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
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