Convicted terrorist Tahawwur Rana from Chicago is seeking immediate release from prison and is contesting an extradition request from India.
According to records from the US Court of Appeals, assistant US attorney and Criminal Appeals chief Bram Alden argued that Rana is fully extraditable under the US-India extradition treaty.
Alden emphasized that the US lower courts, which have already approved Rana’s extradition to India, were entirely correct in their decisions. Alden stated, “Lower courts here got it right. Rana is extraditable to India under the plain provisions of the treaty, and India has established probable cause to prosecute him for his role in terrorist attacks that resulted in 166 deaths and 239 injuries.”
Case History
Rana got arrested by the FBI in Chicago less than a year after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. At the time, he was running a travel agency in Chicago and, along with his friend David Coleman Headley, scouted locations and landing zones in Mumbai for the attack. Investigators revealed that Pakistani terrorists who executed the attack used a blueprint in which Rana played a role. Both Rana and Headley were charged with aiding the terror plot.
While Headley cooperated with investigators, Rana fought the charges and lost.
After serving a 14-year prison sentence, Rana was set to be released from a US prison when India requested his extradition. Alden highlighted that there is documentary evidence showing Rana provided material support to the Pakistani terror group responsible for the attack.
“Rana said that he was informed about what was going on by one of their co-conspirators in Pakistan and his praise for what was carried out in a gruesome terrorist attack that killed 166 people, injured 239 more, and cost India USD 1.5 million,” Alden informed the judges.
Alden reminded the court of the severity of the ‘Mumbai Massacre’, often referred to as India’s 9/11, which was a multi-day siege of Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists. “The terrorists attacked a number of bars, restaurants, the Chabad House, and other targets in Mumbai. It was their (India’s) 9/11.
It was a devastating attack over the course of multiple days that resulted in 166 deaths, including 6 Americans. That is why India wants to prosecute this case, and under the extradition treaty, it has every right to do so,” Alden asserted.
Last month, according to court records, Rana’s attorney argued against his extradition to India. The defense claimed double jeopardy, which is prohibited by the US Constitution, and expressed concerns about the near certainty of Rana’s death while in foreign custody. Despite these arguments, Rana remains in custody at a federal prison in Los Angeles.
