ID :
112247
Thu, 03/18/2010 - 01:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/112247
The shortlink copeid
Headley to plead guilty on Thursday
Yoshita Singh
Chicago, Mar 17 (PTI) In a new twist, Pakistani-American
David Headley, a terror suspect in the Mumbai attacks, will
plead guilty before a US court on Thursday, a move that may
get him a lighter sentence than the maximum death penalty.
49-year-old Headley, who was arrested by the FBI in
October last year, will move a plea bargain under which a
lighter sentence can be recommended on his pleading guilty.
Headley, an LeT operative who had pleaded not guilty to
the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on
January 14, has moved for a "change of plea" which will be
heard by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber on Thursday.
He had got away with a lesser sentence after he was
arrested in 1998 for smuggling heroin into the US from
Pakistan as he cooperated with the investigation in the case.
He was sentenced to less than two years in prison and
thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance
operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Headley, a Chicago resident, faces six counts of
conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering
and maiming persons in India and providing material support to
foreign terrorist plots and LeT; and six counts of aiding and
abetting the murder of US citizens in India. He is also
charged with plotting attacks against a Danish newspaper
which published a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad.
Headley's plea bargain is being seen as a move to get a
lighter sentence and escape death penalty.
"Yes, he (Headley) will plead guilty," John Theis,
Headley's lawyer, told PTI when asked if his client is
changing his not-guilty plea.
He, however, declined to comment on whether Headley
would be pleading guilty to all or some of the charges against
him.
Theis 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".
The FBI had slapped charges on Headley, son of a
Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite, and his
friend from a Pakistani military school Tahawwur Rana, a
Canadian national, with providing material support to the
Mumbai attacks as well as to LeT.
Rana has pleaded not guilty to the charges claiming that
he was duped by Headley. He was denied bail by the court and
hearing for his case has been set for March 29.
Headley 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 during the November 2008
strikes that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
After every trip to India, Headley allegedly travelled
to Pakistan to share videos and photographs of the targets in
India with LeT members. PTI
Chicago, Mar 17 (PTI) In a new twist, Pakistani-American
David Headley, a terror suspect in the Mumbai attacks, will
plead guilty before a US court on Thursday, a move that may
get him a lighter sentence than the maximum death penalty.
49-year-old Headley, who was arrested by the FBI in
October last year, will move a plea bargain under which a
lighter sentence can be recommended on his pleading guilty.
Headley, an LeT operative who had pleaded not guilty to
the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on
January 14, has moved for a "change of plea" which will be
heard by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber on Thursday.
He had got away with a lesser sentence after he was
arrested in 1998 for smuggling heroin into the US from
Pakistan as he cooperated with the investigation in the case.
He was sentenced to less than two years in prison and
thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance
operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Headley, a Chicago resident, faces six counts of
conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering
and maiming persons in India and providing material support to
foreign terrorist plots and LeT; and six counts of aiding and
abetting the murder of US citizens in India. He is also
charged with plotting attacks against a Danish newspaper
which published a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad.
Headley's plea bargain is being seen as a move to get a
lighter sentence and escape death penalty.
"Yes, he (Headley) will plead guilty," John Theis,
Headley's lawyer, told PTI when asked if his client is
changing his not-guilty plea.
He, however, declined to comment on whether Headley
would be pleading guilty to all or some of the charges against
him.
Theis 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".
The FBI had slapped charges on Headley, son of a
Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite, and his
friend from a Pakistani military school Tahawwur Rana, a
Canadian national, with providing material support to the
Mumbai attacks as well as to LeT.
Rana has pleaded not guilty to the charges claiming that
he was duped by Headley. He was denied bail by the court and
hearing for his case has been set for March 29.
Headley 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 during the November 2008
strikes that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
After every trip to India, Headley allegedly travelled
to Pakistan to share videos and photographs of the targets in
India with LeT members. PTI
