Chicago: Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley has pleaded guilty to all 12 charges of being a part of the Lashkar-e-Toiba's (LeT) 26/11 Mumbai terror plot and conspiring to target a Danish newspaper.
In a plea bargain deal worked out with the US government, Headley has accepted that he did indeed work closely with the Pakistan-based LeT to carry out the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. In return for this guilty plea Headley will not face any trial, he will not face a death penalty and he will not be extradited to India. (
Read: David Headley cuts deal with US)
He also won't be extradited to Denmark and Pakistan, the plea agreement said.
Although India's demand for extradition will not be met, it will have access to Headley and New Delhi is now studying the fine print of the document to see whether Headley can only testify before Indian authorities or if he can be interrogated as well.
(Read: US statement on Headley pleading guilty) |
(Read & Watch: India can quiz Headley, says his lawyer)In the first Government of India reaction to Headley's plea bargain, Home Secretary GK Pillai said: "All that we know is that he has pleaded guilty to all the 12 counts which were charged against him, In one sense, that is good, because that would ensure that he gets a very major sentencing. The Attorney General of the United States has advised a sentence of life imprisonment and if he gets the sentence, I don't think the Government of India would be unsatisfied. On other details of the accessibilities for questioning, interrogations... we'll have to see that some mention has been made that foreign judicial testimony can be allowed. We will have to work out the details with the United States government agencies and that's a matter of detail to be worked out in the coming weeks after the sentencing is over."
(Watch G K Pillai's statement)Headley admitted that he participated in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai as well as later planning to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which published a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad. India blames the LeT for the Mumbai attacks that killed over 166 people.
(Read: Reports say Denmark got to quiz Headley)Among the charges that Headley pleaded guilty to are:
- Conspiracy involving bombing public places in India
- Conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India, Denmark
- Aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India
- Providing material support to foreign terrorist plots
- Providing material support to top terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba
Headley says in his plea of guilt that he attended terrorist training camps in Pakistan, conducted extensive surveillance of targets in India for more than two years before the 26/11 attack and made five trips to India between September 2006 and July 2008, when he scouted sites, took photographs for 26/11 and shared details with Pakistani handlers.
The 49-year-old son of a Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite was arrested by the FBI's joint terrorism task force on October 3 last year. He told US District Judge Harry Leinenweber that he wanted to change his plea to guilty, in an apparent bid to get a lighter sentence than the maximum death penalty.
Headley admitted to using his friend Tahawwur Rana's immigration company as a cover for surveillance activities in India and Denmark on behalf of Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including LeT.
The 36-page plea agreement containing a detailed recitation of Headley's participation in terror conspiracies was presented when he changed his plea to guilty.
"By this plea agreement defendant agrees to enter a voluntary plea of guilty to all counts," the document said.
It states that Headley has cooperated with the Government since he was arrested on October 3, 2009, and that he "has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation, and also has provided information of significant intelligence value."
In light of Headley's past cooperation and expected future cooperation, the Attorney General of the United States has authorised the United States Attorney in Chicago not to seek the death penalty against Headley, it said.
Regarding sentencing, which will be deferred until after the conclusion of Headley's cooperation, the plea agreement calculates an anticipated advisory sentencing guideline of life imprisonment.
"Today's guilty plea is a crucial step forward in our efforts to achieve justice for the more than 160 people who lost their lives in the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Working with our domestic and international partners, we will not rest until all those responsible for the Mumbai attacks and the terror plot in Denmark are held accountable," said Attorney General Eric Holder.
"Not only has the criminal justice system achieved a guilty plea in this case, but David Headley is now providing us valuable intelligence about terrorist activities. As this case demonstrates, we must continue to use every tool available to defeat terrorism both at home and abroad."
The American terror suspect 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.
(With PTI inputs)