Rana might get help from terror groups to flee: prosecutors

Yoshita Singh
Chicago, Jan 18 (PTI) Indicted for conspiracy in the
26/11 Mumbai attack, Pakistani Canadian Tahawwaur Rana might
get financial assistance from "dangerous terrorist
organisations" to flee the country if released on bond,
federal prosecutors seeking his detention have argued.
With Rana being named as a conspirator, he also faces a
harsher jail sentence of life imprisonment in the new
chargesheet filed against him, they said.
In a 33-page government response to the motion filed by
Rana seeking revocation of his detention order, prosecutors
have said his "casual speculation" that it would be easy to
extradite him if he fled US and was ever caught again "should
be more unsettling than reassuring to the court, considering
his ties to terrorist organisations".
The response was filed by prosecutors Daniel Collins and
Victoria Peters on Jan 15, a day after Rana and co-accused
David Headley were indicted by a grand jury on 12 counts of
being involved in conspiracy to target Mumbai and Denmark.
It said in light of the superseding indictment returned
against Rana, he now faces additional charges which are
"actually much more serious than those he originally faced".
Rana was denied bail by Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan who
said if released on bond, he could flee the country to escape
a possible 30 year prison term.
However, now charged with supporting the conspiracies to
commit murder and to bomb places of public use in India, "the
maximum term of imprisonment now faced by Rana is life, giving
him heightened incentive" to flee the country.
Rana is also arguing that because Headley is now in
custody, "there is virtually no risk that defendant's (Rana's)
alleged conduct could be repeated".
To this the prosecutors contend that Rana was not just in
contact with Headley but also was in direct contact with Abdur
Rehman Hashim Syed (Pasha), who also is charged in the
superseding indictment, but has not yet been arrested by US
authorities.
"Pasha was defendants' link to Ilyas Kashmiri, one of
Pakistan's most wanted terrorists and a direct link to al
Qaeda," the government's response said.
Rana also was in direct contact with the individual
identified as 'Person A' in the superseding indictment, who is
an uncharged member of the conspiracy to carry out the Mumbai
attacks.
"The fact that, if Rana fled, he not only could receive
financial and other assistance from such international
contacts, but also the fact those contacts are members of
dangerous terrorist organisations, strongly supports detaining
the defendant," the prosecutors said.
Rana, WHO is expected to be arraigned on Jan 21 argues
that Nolan was unduly concerned with his Pakistani background.
But prosecutors say the Judge was "properly concerned with his
ties to a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan".
In a motion filed in a Chicago court on December 30
seeking revocation of his detention order, Rana had said
through his lawyer Patrick Blegen that since he is a Pakistani
army deserter and "does not have the financial resources to
fund an international game of hide and seek", he will not flee
the country if released on bond.
Rana's motion also stated that US can use its extradition
treaty with Pakistan and Canada to bring him back to America
if he were to escape to those countries.
Rana is expected to be arraigned in a court here on
January 21 before Judge Harry Leinenweber.
US District Judge Matthew Kennelly had previously set a
status hearing for his bail plea on the same date. PTI YAS
AHM