Tuesday, May 31, 2011
26/11: 12 jurors selected for Rana trial
In what might be the most-watched terrorism case of the year, a United States federal judge on Wednesday selected 12 jurors — eight women and four men — for the trial of Tahawwur Rana, alleged conspirator in the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks. After reviewing 29 possible choices from a list of 53 individuals, Judge Harry Leinenweber also selected six alternatives for his Chicago court.
Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani descent, is in the dock over allegations that he aided David Headley, the purported mastermind of the deadly attack that killed over 160 people. He was said to have allowed Headley to use his immigration firm as a front for Headley's surveillance activities in Mumbai before the attacks.
Headley, who was arrested in October 2009, entered into a plea bargain agreement with federal authorities last year in a bid to avoid the death penalty. He will be a principal prosecution witness in the Rana case and his testimony is also expected to highlight links between the Lashkar-e-Taiba and an official of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence, Major Iqbal.
This week's jury selection came after days spent vetting potential candidates, following which Judge Leinenweber said to the jurors: “You are not to discuss this case among yourselves until all the evidence is in,” adding that they were not to discuss it with friends and family or do independent research on the Internet.
The composition of the jury was immediately welcomed by Rana's legal team. His attorney Charlie Swift said: “I believe we got a jury of Mr. Rana's peers, people who can understand Mr. Rana's position as an immigrant... as a minority in his community and as a businessman and a family man.”
Judge Leinenweber cautioned that despite heightened sensitivities and fears in regard to foreign terrorism following the 9/11 attacks, “jurors cannot face a situation in which they deliberate in fear that their verdict may subject them or their family to any form of retaliation.”
Labels: 26/11, David Headley, Mumbai attacks case, Tahawwur Rana
Thursday, October 21, 2010
U.S. didn't warn India despite ‘information & concerns'
From The Hindu
The United States had “information and concerns” on the terror-related activities of the 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind David Coleman Headley, based on communications received from his spouses. However the U.S. did not provide India with full information or a stronger warning due to a lack of “specific information.”
At a press briefing this week, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that regarding the nature of the information provided to U.S. authorities by Headley's wives, “there was concern expressed by both spouses at the same time,” although the information “was not specific.”
He added that had the U.S. possessed specific information on Headley, it would have provided it to the Indian government beforehand. However the information received did not detail a “time or place of the attack.”
In particular, Mr. Crowley acknowledged that the U.S. law enforcement authorities held two meetings with one of Headley's spouses in late 2007 and early 2008, during which she provided information that was followed up on and relayed to the relevant agencies across the U.S. government.
Commenting on the U.S.' slow response to the information, Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, told The Hindu, “Many officials in the U.S. government responsible for Pakistan policy often failed in the past to understand the close links between Pakistan-based terrorist groups targeting India and those that target the West.”
Ms. Curtis said that rather than viewing the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terror outfit Headley was said to have been trained with, on par with the Al-Qaeda, U.S. officials tended to see it only through an Indo-Pakistani lens.
“Not specific”
When Mr. Crowley was asked whether the information provided by Headley's spouses did not mention that he was involved with the LeT, implying that this would have provided a clue about whether Indian targets would be involved, Mr. Crowley only repeated, “There was no specific information as to who he was associated with or what they were planning to do.”
Mr. Crowley's comments came even as reports emerged on Monday that in his statements to Indian authorities in June Headley admitted that the Pakistan spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, had been “deeply involved in planning the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai, going so far as to fund reconnaissance missions to the Indian city.”
The Associated Press quoted a secret U.S. government report on Headley's interrogation as saying, “According to Headley, every big action of the LeT is done in close coordination with the ISI.”
Mr. Crowley said the U.S. had been pressing Pakistan to take more aggressive action inside its borders to deal with a threat that was of concern to the U.S. and the region.
In the context of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue in Washington this week, he added, “Clearly, this is an ongoing threat and more needs to be done. That will be among the issues talked about during this week's Strategic Dialogue.”
However with regard to the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, Ms. Curtis cautioned that legal issues could arise in the event that direct ISI links were made to the Mumbai attacks, which also killed six U.S. citizens.
She said, “From a policy perspective, there could be major blowback on the Obama administration if it is perceived as stifling information related to a terrorist incident in which U.S. citizens were murdered.”
There were also questions being raised whether the U.S. authorities had failed to follow up on terrorism leads associated with Headley “because it could potentially implicate Pakistan's intelligence service, with whom the Central Intelligence Agency is closely working,” Ms. Curtis, formerly with the CIA, said.
The United States had “information and concerns” on the terror-related activities of the 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind David Coleman Headley, based on communications received from his spouses. However the U.S. did not provide India with full information or a stronger warning due to a lack of “specific information.”
At a press briefing this week, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that regarding the nature of the information provided to U.S. authorities by Headley's wives, “there was concern expressed by both spouses at the same time,” although the information “was not specific.”
He added that had the U.S. possessed specific information on Headley, it would have provided it to the Indian government beforehand. However the information received did not detail a “time or place of the attack.”
In particular, Mr. Crowley acknowledged that the U.S. law enforcement authorities held two meetings with one of Headley's spouses in late 2007 and early 2008, during which she provided information that was followed up on and relayed to the relevant agencies across the U.S. government.
Commenting on the U.S.' slow response to the information, Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, told The Hindu, “Many officials in the U.S. government responsible for Pakistan policy often failed in the past to understand the close links between Pakistan-based terrorist groups targeting India and those that target the West.”
Ms. Curtis said that rather than viewing the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terror outfit Headley was said to have been trained with, on par with the Al-Qaeda, U.S. officials tended to see it only through an Indo-Pakistani lens.
“Not specific”
When Mr. Crowley was asked whether the information provided by Headley's spouses did not mention that he was involved with the LeT, implying that this would have provided a clue about whether Indian targets would be involved, Mr. Crowley only repeated, “There was no specific information as to who he was associated with or what they were planning to do.”
Mr. Crowley's comments came even as reports emerged on Monday that in his statements to Indian authorities in June Headley admitted that the Pakistan spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, had been “deeply involved in planning the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai, going so far as to fund reconnaissance missions to the Indian city.”
The Associated Press quoted a secret U.S. government report on Headley's interrogation as saying, “According to Headley, every big action of the LeT is done in close coordination with the ISI.”
Mr. Crowley said the U.S. had been pressing Pakistan to take more aggressive action inside its borders to deal with a threat that was of concern to the U.S. and the region.
In the context of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue in Washington this week, he added, “Clearly, this is an ongoing threat and more needs to be done. That will be among the issues talked about during this week's Strategic Dialogue.”
However with regard to the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, Ms. Curtis cautioned that legal issues could arise in the event that direct ISI links were made to the Mumbai attacks, which also killed six U.S. citizens.
She said, “From a policy perspective, there could be major blowback on the Obama administration if it is perceived as stifling information related to a terrorist incident in which U.S. citizens were murdered.”
There were also questions being raised whether the U.S. authorities had failed to follow up on terrorism leads associated with Headley “because it could potentially implicate Pakistan's intelligence service, with whom the Central Intelligence Agency is closely working,” Ms. Curtis, formerly with the CIA, said.
Labels: 26/11, David Headley, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lashkar-e-Taiba, mumbai terror
Monday, April 12, 2010
Obama walks tightrope with Manmohan, Gilani
From The Hindu
Appreciates India's interest in Afghanistan; tells Pakistan that extremists do not distinguish between victims
India and the United States made a fresh push on Sunday to dispel the clouds of uncertainty hovering over their relationship in the wake of America's increasing dependence on Pakistan as a partner in its war against extremism in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama, accompanied by their top advisers, met here for 50 minutes on the eve of the Nuclear Security Summit. A few hours later, the U.S. President sat down with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan.
The U.S. President reassured Dr. Singh that he “welcomed the humanitarian and development assistance that India continues to provide to Afghanistan,” the White House said in a statement. Providing an Indian account of the discussions, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said President Obama told the Prime Minister the U.S. “fully appreciated India's interest in Afghanistan and recognised the enormous sacrifices that India has made in helping to stabilise that country.”
Mr. Obama also sought to put to rest speculation on America's reluctance to allow Indian investigators access to David Coleman Headley, the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative arraigned in Chicago for his role in the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Ms. Rao described the U.S. President as being “fully supportive of our request for provision of such access.”
In his meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, Mr. Obama said that “extremists do not distinguish between us and we are truly facing a common enemy,” a White House readout of the exchange said. Mr. Obama also sought to dispel Islamabad's fears that the U.S. had sinister designs towards the country's nuclear programme, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters later.
Playing his role as an economist to the hilt, Prime Minister Singh told Mr. Obama about the role the U.S. and G-20 could play in speeding up the recovery of the global economy. India was also playing a role in the “architecture of high economic growth,” he said, but warned that the terrorist onslaught in the region “could affect our growth prospects.” This terrorist menace should be tackled and this was an issue on which India and the U.S. stood on the same side, Ms. Rao quoted the Prime Minister as saying. “He said this with specific reference to what is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan. How this menace was tackled would determine the future of the South Asian region, the Prime Minister said. He mentioned in this context the issue of David Coleman Headley and also the tremendous rise in infiltration across the Line of Control.” Dr. Singh also brought up the activities of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Ilyas Kashmiri, “as also the fact that unfortunately there was no will on the part of the government of Pakistan to punish those responsible for the terrorist crimes in Mumbai of November 2008,” Ms. Rao said.
Directly spelling out New Delhi's expectations, the Prime Minister said that this was an area “where the partnership of India and the United States could make the difference.”
According to Ms. Rao, President Obama said he shared Dr. Singh's vision of South Asia and that he favoured the reduction of tensions between the two countries. At this point, the Prime Minister stressed the need for Pakistan to take convincing action against those accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks, the Foreign Secretary said. She added that Mr. Obama fully understood Indian concerns about the LeT and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. was engaging Islamabad on these issues and would be sensitive to the concerns India has expressed in the context of American security assistance to Pakistan. Asked to elaborate what that meant, Mr. Rao said the issue would be monitored “keeping India's concerns in mind.”
Appreciates India's interest in Afghanistan; tells Pakistan that extremists do not distinguish between victims
India and the United States made a fresh push on Sunday to dispel the clouds of uncertainty hovering over their relationship in the wake of America's increasing dependence on Pakistan as a partner in its war against extremism in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama, accompanied by their top advisers, met here for 50 minutes on the eve of the Nuclear Security Summit. A few hours later, the U.S. President sat down with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan.
The U.S. President reassured Dr. Singh that he “welcomed the humanitarian and development assistance that India continues to provide to Afghanistan,” the White House said in a statement. Providing an Indian account of the discussions, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said President Obama told the Prime Minister the U.S. “fully appreciated India's interest in Afghanistan and recognised the enormous sacrifices that India has made in helping to stabilise that country.”
Mr. Obama also sought to put to rest speculation on America's reluctance to allow Indian investigators access to David Coleman Headley, the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative arraigned in Chicago for his role in the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Ms. Rao described the U.S. President as being “fully supportive of our request for provision of such access.”
In his meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, Mr. Obama said that “extremists do not distinguish between us and we are truly facing a common enemy,” a White House readout of the exchange said. Mr. Obama also sought to dispel Islamabad's fears that the U.S. had sinister designs towards the country's nuclear programme, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters later.
Playing his role as an economist to the hilt, Prime Minister Singh told Mr. Obama about the role the U.S. and G-20 could play in speeding up the recovery of the global economy. India was also playing a role in the “architecture of high economic growth,” he said, but warned that the terrorist onslaught in the region “could affect our growth prospects.” This terrorist menace should be tackled and this was an issue on which India and the U.S. stood on the same side, Ms. Rao quoted the Prime Minister as saying. “He said this with specific reference to what is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan. How this menace was tackled would determine the future of the South Asian region, the Prime Minister said. He mentioned in this context the issue of David Coleman Headley and also the tremendous rise in infiltration across the Line of Control.” Dr. Singh also brought up the activities of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Ilyas Kashmiri, “as also the fact that unfortunately there was no will on the part of the government of Pakistan to punish those responsible for the terrorist crimes in Mumbai of November 2008,” Ms. Rao said.
Directly spelling out New Delhi's expectations, the Prime Minister said that this was an area “where the partnership of India and the United States could make the difference.”
According to Ms. Rao, President Obama said he shared Dr. Singh's vision of South Asia and that he favoured the reduction of tensions between the two countries. At this point, the Prime Minister stressed the need for Pakistan to take convincing action against those accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks, the Foreign Secretary said. She added that Mr. Obama fully understood Indian concerns about the LeT and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. was engaging Islamabad on these issues and would be sensitive to the concerns India has expressed in the context of American security assistance to Pakistan. Asked to elaborate what that meant, Mr. Rao said the issue would be monitored “keeping India's concerns in mind.”
Labels: Barack Obama, David Headley, Manmohan Singh, Nuclear Security Summit, Yusuf Raza Gilani
Monday, April 05, 2010
India access to Headley “down to logistics”
From The Hindu
The question of providing Indian authorities with access to terror suspect David Coleman Headley is now “down to logistics,” a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation said today.
Speaking to The Hindu, Special Agent Ross Rice of the Chicago FBI said, “As per his plea agreement Mr. Headley has agreed to cooperate with U.S. and other authorities. If he does not do so, it will be a violation of his plea agreement and his case will then go back to the courts for further review.”
Mr. Rice suggested that the plea agreement worked both ways: “The plea agreement requires Mr. Headley to do certain things, including cooperate with the authorities. It also requires U.S. authorities to do certain things.” He implied that Mr. Headley would need to continue sharing information if he wished to see the U.S. government hold up its end of the bargain.
Mr. Rice confirmed that discussions for providing Indian authorities with access to Mr. Headley were underway and U.S. authorities were hopeful that this would happen in due course. He added, “It is simply down to deciding when, and where, who from the Indian side would be present, whether it would be with Mr. Headley’s attorneys present, whether U.S. authorities would be present and so forth.”
When the logistics for any interviews with Mr. Headley were finalised it would not be announced to the public in any case, due to security concerns, Mr. Rice said.
Labels: 26/11 attacks, David Headley, India, mumbai terror, terrorism, U.S.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
No decision on allowing India direct access to Headley: Blake
From The Hindu
No decision has been made on the question of whether India will have direct access to David Coleman Headley, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, said today.
Discussing some of the highlights of his recent trip to the region with journalists Mr. Blake said, “We understand that there is a lot of information that Mr. Headley has, which is of great interest to India, particularly because he was scouting out some possible sites.” In turn the United States had great interest in sharing as much information as it could on that, Mr. Blake added.
Yet he cautioned that although the U.S. Department of Justice was working with the Government of India to discuss the modalities for cooperation on the Headley case, “no decision has been made on that.”
Broader LeT threat
On the other hand in Pakistan Mr. Blake said that among the most important messages that he had conveyed was his view that India was seeking two things: first the “continued prosecution of suspects in custody for the Mumbai bombings”; and second, “progress to curtail cross-border infiltration that is taking place from Pakistan into India.”
Mr. Blake also said that he had urged Pakistan to take action against the Punjab-based groups, such as Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT), “not only because that is important to India but it is important to the U.S.”
He explained that the LeT now had growing ambition and scope in its activity as shown by the David Headley case. “So we think it is very much in the interest of Pakistan as well to take action against the LeT,” he added, implying that the global nature of the LeT threat may endanger Pakistan’s interests.
The Assistant Secretary further argued that the it was important for Pakistan not to allow any terrorist groups to use Pakistan as a base from which to attack India or any other country. “I made that point not only publicly but also privately with my friends in Pakistan,” he said.
Mr. Blake praised Pakistan for its military action along the Afghan border. “I think an enormous amount has happened in Pakistan, first in Swat, then in South Waziristan, and then the more recent arrests of several senior Taliban leaders.” A lot of important progress has been made, he added, however qualifying that with the statement that there has not been any recent progress with the trials of the Mumbai attacks accused in Pakistan.
Liability and the civil nuclear deal
Reacting to suggestions that India may not pass legislation for absolute liability in line with Committee on Supplementary Compensation Mr. Blake said, “I do not see it as a sticking point. In all of our conversations with the Government of India, they have consistently said they remain committed to fulfilling this commitment under the civilian nuclear deal, to pass the civil liability legislation.”
He admitted that the opposition in India has recently expressed its objections to aspects of that legislation but said that it would be up to the Government of India to figure out how to move forward on this.
India-Iran pipeline project
Regarding the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India oil pipeline proposal Mr. Blake sought to dissuade India and Pakistan from engaging with Iran in this area. “This is a very sensitive time with negotiations with Iran and we would prefer that all countries not conduct such transactions with Iran at this time,” he said.
He said that the reason for this would be that the U.S. view of Iran was that it appeared to be unwilling to uphold its international responsibilities in terms of its alleged nuclear development programme.
Labels: 26/11 Mumbai attacks, David Headley, India, Obama, Robert Blake, US
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Headley does a u-turn on plea
In this Dec. 9, 2009 file courtroom drawing shows David Coleman Headley, left, pleads not guilty before U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber in Chicago to charges that accuse him of conspiring in the deadly 2008 terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai and of planning to launch an armed assault on a Danish newspaper. (AP Photo/Verna Sadock, File)
From The Hindu
David Coleman Headly, accused of doing the background planning for the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, will change his plea to guilty on federal charges, a United States district court said.
Mr. Headley originally pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in connection to attacks in India; he is further charged with a plot to attack Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed — which however did not take place. Mr. Headley was arrested by FBI agents in Chicago in October while trying to board a plane for Philadelphia.
In a one-paragraph filing the court today said that Headley is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing on Thursday before United States District Judge Harry Leinenweber. However the filing offered no further clarifications with regards to which charges Headley would change his plea for.
Reports quoted John Theis, Headley’s lawyer as saying that he and Headley “have been in discussions with the government” and Thursday’s action would reflect the results.
PTI adds
The son of a Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite, Headley had so far pleaded not guilty to the charges and has remained in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre here since he was arrested in October 2009.
John Theis, Headley’s lawyer, refused to give any details when asked whether a plea deal has been worked out for Headley, who has been “cooperating in the ongoing investigation“.
If convicted, Headley faces maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death.
Mr. Theis said: "We have had discussions with the government regarding the plea bargain. We are working on it and we expect there will be a plea agreement."
However, Headley’s cooperation in the investigation is seen as a way to escape death penalty.
Spokesman for Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn said Headley would be present in court for the March 18 hearing.
Mr. Samborn too declined to comment on what charges Headley would be pleading guilty to.
In the 12 count indictment, Headley, a 49 year old Chicago resident, faces six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, providing material support to Lashkar and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India.
The FBI had also charged Headley’s friend from a Pakistani military school, city-businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with providing material support to the Mumbai attacks as well as to the terrorist organisation LeT.
Pakistani-Canadian Rana has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said that he was duped by Headley.
Rana has been denied bail by the court and is held at the Correctional centre since his October arrest. A hearing for his case has been set for March 29.
Headley was first arrested in 1998 for conspiring to smuggle heroin into the U.S. from Pakistan. However, after his arrest he cooperated with the investigation, giving information about his involvement in drug trafficking and his Pakistani suppliers.
Due to his cooperation, he was sentenced to less than two years in prison and shortly thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar and conspired with its members and others, including co-accused Rana, Ilyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman in planning and executing the attacks on India and a Danish newspaper.
He conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai between September 2006 and July 2008, taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.
After every trip to India, Headley allegedly travelled to Pakistan to share videos and photographs of the targets in India with Lashkar members.
David Coleman Headly, accused of doing the background planning for the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, will change his plea to guilty on federal charges, a United States district court said.
Mr. Headley originally pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in connection to attacks in India; he is further charged with a plot to attack Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed — which however did not take place. Mr. Headley was arrested by FBI agents in Chicago in October while trying to board a plane for Philadelphia.
In a one-paragraph filing the court today said that Headley is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing on Thursday before United States District Judge Harry Leinenweber. However the filing offered no further clarifications with regards to which charges Headley would change his plea for.
Reports quoted John Theis, Headley’s lawyer as saying that he and Headley “have been in discussions with the government” and Thursday’s action would reflect the results.
PTI adds
The son of a Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite, Headley had so far pleaded not guilty to the charges and has remained in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre here since he was arrested in October 2009.
John Theis, Headley’s lawyer, refused to give any details when asked whether a plea deal has been worked out for Headley, who has been “cooperating in the ongoing investigation“.
If convicted, Headley faces maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death.
Mr. Theis said: "We have had discussions with the government regarding the plea bargain. We are working on it and we expect there will be a plea agreement."
However, Headley’s cooperation in the investigation is seen as a way to escape death penalty.
Spokesman for Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn said Headley would be present in court for the March 18 hearing.
Mr. Samborn too declined to comment on what charges Headley would be pleading guilty to.
In the 12 count indictment, Headley, a 49 year old Chicago resident, faces six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, providing material support to Lashkar and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India.
The FBI had also charged Headley’s friend from a Pakistani military school, city-businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with providing material support to the Mumbai attacks as well as to the terrorist organisation LeT.
Pakistani-Canadian Rana has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said that he was duped by Headley.
Rana has been denied bail by the court and is held at the Correctional centre since his October arrest. A hearing for his case has been set for March 29.
Headley was first arrested in 1998 for conspiring to smuggle heroin into the U.S. from Pakistan. However, after his arrest he cooperated with the investigation, giving information about his involvement in drug trafficking and his Pakistani suppliers.
Due to his cooperation, he was sentenced to less than two years in prison and shortly thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar and conspired with its members and others, including co-accused Rana, Ilyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman in planning and executing the attacks on India and a Danish newspaper.
He conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai between September 2006 and July 2008, taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.
After every trip to India, Headley allegedly travelled to Pakistan to share videos and photographs of the targets in India with Lashkar members.
Labels: 26/11 attacks, Chicago court, David Headley, mumbai terror
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