The United States has extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face trial on multiple charges linked to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. These attacks, carried out by members of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), resulted in the deaths of 166 individuals, including six Americans, and caused over $1.5 billion in property damage in Mumbai. The attacks involved 12 coordinated shooting and bombing incidents throughout the city over the course of several days in November 2008.
Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian citizen originally from Pakistan, is charged with crimes including conspiracy, murder, forgery, and engaging in a terrorist act. Indian authorities allege that Rana played a key role in facilitating the attacks, helping David Coleman Headley, his childhood friend, travel to Mumbai to conduct surveillance of potential sites. Headley, a U.S. citizen born as Daood Gilani, allegedly received training from LeT in Pakistan and coordinated with the group about the planned attacks.
According to India's claims, Rana used his immigration business as a front to assist Headley, helping him secure visas, and even opened a Mumbai branch for which Headley served as manager, despite lacking relevant experience. This support allegedly allowed Headley to gather intelligence crucial for the attacks.
Rana reportedly expressed admiration for the terrorists involved in the attacks, allegedly suggesting in a conversation with Headley that the attackers should receive Pakistan’s highest military honor.
This is not Rana's first legal encounter concerning terrorism. In 2013, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a court in Illinois for his role in providing material support to LeT and a failed terrorist plot in Denmark. During the same case, Headley pleaded guilty to multiple federal terrorism charges and was sentenced accordingly.
The extradition was a lengthy process initiated by India in June 2020. Following several years of legal proceedings, a U.S. magistrate judge certified the extradition in May 2023. Subsequent appeals by Rana were denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, leading to the Secretary of State issuing a warrant for Rana's surrender.
The U.S. Marshals Service, alongside various officials from the Justice Department, facilitated the extradition process. On April 9, they officially transferred Rana to representatives from India's Ministry of External Affairs.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Lulejian, David R. Friedman, and others from the Central District of California played major roles in handling the extradition litigation, with significant support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in New Delhi.
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