http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Chicago.FBI.First.2.1256226.html
“Federal Agents Raid Goat Meat Plant
Authorities Confirm Raid, No One Taken Into Custody”
KINSMAN, Ill. (CBS)
SNIPPET: “George Jackson III is an attorney hired by one of the plant operators, Dr. Syed Hamid. Jackson and Dr. Hamid spoke briefly while on their way to a meeting with the federal prosecutor Monday.
Jackson says it’s too early to say why there was such a huge show of force at the plant.”
SNIPPET: “Jackson said federal agents confiscated the company’s computers, effectively shutting down the business. Dr. Hamid chose not to weigh in Monday.
“I don’t want to comment at this point,” Dr. Hamid said.
Sources tell CBS 2 there are only six employees at the plant. An FBI spokesman would not confirm that but does say that no one has been charged. “
October 27, 2009
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://chicago.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/cg102709.htm
Two Chicago Men Charged in Connection with Alleged Roles in Foreign Terror Plot That Focused on Targets in Denmark
CHICAGO—Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets, including facilities and employees of a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, federal law enforcement officials announced today. There was no imminent danger in the Chicago area, officials said, adding that the charges are unrelated to recent terror plot arrests in Boston, New York, Colorado, Texas and central Illinois.
The defendants charged in separate criminal complaints unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, also known as Tahawar Rana, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. The complaints remained under seal temporarily after the defendants’ arrests, with court approval, so as not to compromise further investigative activity.
Headley, a U.S. citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006 and resides primarily in Chicago, was arrested on Oct. 3, 2009, by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) at O’Hare International Airport before boarding a flight to Philadelphia, intending to travel on to Pakistan. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts involving murder and maiming outside the United States and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to that overseas terrorism conspiracy.
Rana, a native of Pakistan and citizen of Canada who also primarily resides in Chicago, was arrested on Oct. 18, 2009, at his home by federal agents. Rana is the owner of several businesses, including First World Immigration Services, which has offices on Devon Avenue in Chicago, as well as in New York and Toronto. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorism conspiracy that involved Headley and at least three other specific individuals in Pakistan.
Both men have been held in federal custody since each was arrested. If convicted, Headley faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for conspiracy to murder or maim persons abroad, while Headley and Rana each face a maximum of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism.
On Oct. 18, 2009, JTTF agents executed search warrants in connection with the investigation at four locations: Headley’s and Rana’s residences on the north side of Chicago, Rana’s immigration business in Chicago, and a farm he owns in Kinsman, Ill., approximately 80 miles southwest of Chicago, which is used to provide halal meat for Muslim customers, as well as a grocery store in Chicago.
According to both complaints, since at least late 2008 until Oct. 3, 2009, as part of the conspiracy to murder and maim persons abroad, Headley allegedly identified and conducted surveillance of potential targets of a terrorist attack in Denmark on two separate trips to Denmark in January and July 2009, and reported and attempted to report on his efforts to other conspirators in Pakistan. As part of the conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, Rana allegedly helped arrange Headley’s travels overseas and conceal their true nature and purpose to surveil potential terror targets overseas, and discussed potential targets for attack with Headley.
Headley allegedly reported and attempted to report on his overseas surveillance to other conspirators, according to the affidavits, including:
Ilyas Kashmiri, identified as the operational chief of the Azad Kashmir section of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), a Pakistani-based terrorist organization with links to al Qaeda. Kashmiri, who is presently believed to be in Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) region in northwestern Pakistan, issued a statement this month that he was alive and working with al Qaeda;
“Individual A” (who is identified as Individual A in the Headley affidavit and as Individual B in the Rana affidavit), who is associated with Kashmiri, as well as with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), another Pakistani-based terrorist organization;
an individual identified as “Lashkar-e-Taiba Member A” (LeT Member A), who has substantial influence and responsibility within the organization and whose identity is known to the government.
“The public should be reassured that there was no imminent danger in the Chicago area. However, law enforcement has the duty to be vigilant to guard against not just those who would carry out attacks here on our soil but those who plot on our soil to help carry out violent attacks overseas. I wish to express my deep appreciation to the FBI agents and other members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their extremely hard work on this matter,” said Mr. Fitzgerald.
“The criminal complaints unsealed today have exposed a serious plot against overseas targets by two Chicago-based men working with Pakistani-based terrorist organizations. Information developed during this investigation was shared with our foreign partners as we worked together to mitigate these threats.This case is a reminder that the threat posed by international terrorist organizations is global in nature and requires constant vigilance at home and abroad,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
“This investigation demonstrates the well-established relationships that we have with our law enforcement partners, both foreign and domestic. We work closely with state, local and federal law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as with our overseas partners, to identify and disrupt threats here and abroad,” said Mr. Grant.
According to the affidavits in both cases, Headley at times has claimed to be a consultant with or representative of Rana’s business, First World Immigration Services, but appears to perform little if any actual work for the business. In addition, Headley’s apartment in Chicago is leased to an individual who is deceased. Despite his apparent lack of financial resources and substantial employment, Headley has traveled extensively since the second half of 2008, including multiple trips to Pakistan and various countries in Europe. Postings to an internet group for graduates of a military school in the Pakistani town of Hasan Abdal (a group that refers to itself as “abdalians”), reflect that both Rana and Headley have participated in the group and referred to their attendance at that school.
The Denmark Project
Beginning in late 2008, Headley corresponded extensively with Individual A and LeT Member A regarding what they referred to in coded communications as the “Mickey Mouse Project,” “mmp,” and “the northern project,” according to the affidavit. The Mickey Mouse Project allegedly involved planning for one or more attacks at facilities and employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper that in 2005 published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, to which many Muslims took great offense. In October 2008, Headley allegedly posted a message to the “abdalians” internet discussion group stating that “I feel disposed towards violence for the offending parties,” referring to the Danish cartoonists and others who he identified “as making fun of Islam.”
Using coded language, Rana, Headley, Individual A and LeT Member A allegedly have referred to this plot, as well as discussions of other targets, as “investments,” “projects,” “business,” and “action,” and have described their hopes for success both in terms of receiving religious awards, as well as getting “rich,” “richer,” and making “profit.” Between August 2008 and Dec. 7, 2008, Headley sent multiple email messages from internet addresses located in Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, the charges allege. On Dec. 7, 2008, just before traveling from Pakistan to the United States that same day, Headley alleged used one of multiple email accounts to store a detailed list of items for himself, which he titled “Mickey Mouse.” Included on the list (contained in the affidavits) were the following items:
Route Design (train, bus, air)
Cross (Cover Authenticator)
Trade? Immigration?
Ad? (Lost Luggage) (Business) (Entry?)
Kings Square (French Embassy)
…
Counter surveillance (magic eye)
…
Security (armed)?
In January 2009, Headley traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Rana allegedly arranged portions of his travel. During the trip, Headley allegedly visited two different offices of the Jyllands-Posten — in Copenhagen and Arhus, Denmark. The Copenhagen office is located in Kings Square near the French Embassy. Headley falsely told Jyllands-Posten employees that he was visiting on behalf of First World Immigration Services, which he said was considering opening offices in Denmark and might be interested in advertising the business in the newspaper. While in Denmark, Headley instructed Rana to be alert for an email from a Jyllands-Posten sales representative, and to ask First World’s Toronto and New York offices to “remember me,” in case a newspaper representative called. According to the complaints, Rana corresponded from Chicago with a representative of the Jyllands-Posten by email in which he pretended to be Headley.
After visiting Denmark, Headley traveled to Pakistan to meet with Individual A. During this visit, Headley traveled with Individual A to Pakistan’s FATA region and met with Kashmiri. Before returning to Chicago in June 2009, Headley sent his will to Rana and Rana responded by sending a coded message establishing a new email account, the complaint alleges.
In July and August 2009, Headley exchanged a series of emails with LeT Member A, including an exchange in which Headley asked if the Denmark project was on hold, and whether a visit to India that LeT Member A had asked him to undertake was for the purpose of surveilling targets for a new terrorist attack. These emails reflect that LeT Member A was placing a higher priority on using Headley to assist in planning a new attack in India than on completing the planned attack in Denmark. After this time, Headley and Individual A allegedly continued focusing on the plan with Kashmiri to attack the newspaper, rather than working with LeT, the complaint alleges.
In late July 2009, Headley traveled again to Copenhagen and to other locations in Europe, and Rana again arranged portions of his travel. When Headley returned to the United States, he falsely told border inspectors that he was traveling on business as a representative of First World Immigration, although his luggage contained no papers or other documents relating to First World.
After returning to Chicago in August 2009, Headley allegedly used coded language to repeatedly inquire if Individual A had been in touch with Kashmiri regarding planning for the attack, and expressing concern that Individual A’s communications with Kashmiri had been cut off. In early September 2009, Headley and Rana took a lengthy car ride during which they discussed the activities of the other individuals, including past terrorist acts, and Headley discussed with Rana five actions involving targets that expressly included “Denmark.” In conversations with Rana and Individual A in August and September 2009, Headley indicated that if the “doctor” (alleged to be a reference to Kashmiri) and his people were unable to assist, then Headley would perform the planned operation himself.
In September 2009, after initial press reports indicated that Kashmiri had been killed in a drone attack in Pakistan, Headley and Individual A allegedly had a series of coded conversations in which they discussed the reports of Kashmiri’s death and what it meant for the projects they were planning. Individual A sought to reassure and encourage Headley, telling him, among other things, that “[t]his is business sir; these types of things happen.” On Sept. 20, 2009, Headley allegedly told a family member words to the effect that he had spoken to Rana and they agreed that “business must go on.”
In a Sept. 21, 2009, telephone conversation, Individual A indicated to Headley that Kashmiri was alive and “doing well.” In a subsequent conversation on Sept. 30, 2009, Individual A again assured Headley that Kashmiri, whom he referred to as “Pir Sahib,” was “absolutely all right” and had not gotten “married,” which was code for being killed. Headley asked Individual A if it was possible to now have a meeting with Kashmiri and Individual A responded that Kashmiri “just today, was asking about you” (Headley).
According to the affidavit, Headley stated in conversations last month that he intended to travel to Pakistan in early October to meet with Individual A and Kashmiri, and he was arrested on Oct. 3 as he prepared to board a flight from Chicago to Philadelphia, intending to travel on to Pakistan. During a search of Headley’s luggage, a memory stick was recovered that contained approximately 10 short videos of Copenhagen, including video focused on the Jyllands-Posten building in King’s Square taken both during the day and night, as well as a nearby Danish military barracks and the exterior and interior of Copenhagen’s central train station, consistent with the checklist he stored which mentioned “route design.” In addition, Headley had an airline reservation, allegedly made by Rana, to fly from Atlanta to Copenhagen on Oct. 29, 2009.
The investigation is continuing and is being conducted by the Chicago FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, with particular assistance from the Chicago Police Department, the Illinois State Police and the Department of Homeland Security.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Vicki Peters from the Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains mere allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/11/transnational_terror_lashkar-e.php
“Transnational Terror: Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Chicago Plot”
By Animesh Roul
(November 6, 2009)
SNIPPET: “Three names have been doing the rounds in India these days: Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri, David Coleman Headley (a.k.a Dauod Geelani) and Tahawur Hussein Rana; one hard core veteran Jehadi and two motivated ‘would be’ terrorists. They are in the news for plotting major assaults in India. Among them, Ilyas Kashmiri who was rumored to be dead early this year, in fact survived three drone attacks in Pakistan’s Waziristan region, belongs to the Al Qaeda- Harkat-Ul- Jihad- Al-Islami (HuJI) lineage and heads the Qaeda’s deadly 311 brigade. He still carries a head money of US $ 600,000 dollars. His name resurfaced when a report was published in the Asia Times last month. The semi-biographical report titled, “Al-Qaeda’s guerrilla chief lays out strategy” was written by Syed Saleem Shahzad of Pakistan who interviewed Ilyas Kashmiri about his future terror plans at his den and on his invitation.
In early September 2009, Pakistani officials and Western intelligence agencies believed that Ilyas Kashmir, Al Qaeda/HuJI operations chief in Pakistan and another close aide of Bin Laden, a Uzbek terrorist commander identified as Nazimuddin Zalalov (a.ka. Yahyo) have been killed in missile attacks in Turrikhel area of North Waziristan.
The other two names, Headly and Rana came as a bit of surprise to many in India and in the US. But their plan made one thing clear about the intention and capability of terrorist outfits (like LeT, Al Qaeda and JeM) that have transnational reach and global Jihadi agenda. These two men are part of a Lashkar-e-Taiba plot to attack major landmarks in India and Denmark. The US investigating agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have so far neutralized what is now dubbed as LeT’s ‘Chicago Terror Plot’. Headley was arrested early in October 2009 by the Joint Terrorism Task Force at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. He was reportedly planning to travel to Pakistan in near future to meet Ilyas Kashmiri and other terrorist leaders. His accomplice and co plotter Rana was arrested from Chicago later in that month.”
Thanks to a special emailer for pointing to this article:
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_headley-ran-visa-agency-in-tardeo-before-26-11_1308671
“Headley ran visa agency in Tardeo before 26/11”
Josy Joseph / DNASunday, November 8, 2009 2:38 IST
SNIPPET: “New Delhi: The two terror suspects arrested in the US for plotting to strike targets in Denmark and India spent significant time in Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks, authoritative sources have told DNA. While one of them operated a visa agency in Mumbai for almost two years until the latter part of 2008, the other suspect spent 10 days in the city just days before the terror strike last November.”
SNIPPET: “According to available information, David Coleman Headley, the Pakistan-born US citizen and one of the two arrested, ran a visa facilitation agency in Mumbai between November 2006, and July 2008. The firm, named Immigrant Law Centre, was run from AC Market, Tardeo in Mumbai.
Officially, the firm was helping unskilled and semi-skilled people to get visas for the US and Canada.”
Keep us updated...
Note: Posted here as a notation and for archival purposes.
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2385959/posts
‘Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al Qaeda’
LONG WAR JOURNAL.org - Threat Matrix - blog ^ | November 13, 2009 2:29 PM | Bill Roggio
Posted on November 13, 2009 3:45:03 PM PST by Cindy
Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a former French investigative magistrate who specialized on al Qaeda and investigated the terror group in Pakistan, has more damning information on al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the groups’ ties to each other and the Pakistani state. From Reuters:
In an interview, Bruguiere said he was convinced Lashkar-e-Taiba, first set up to fight India in its part of the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, had become part of an international network tied to al Qaeda.
‘Lashkar-e-Taiba is no longer a Pakistani movement with only a Kashmir political or military agenda. Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al Qaeda. Lashkar-e-Taiba has decided to expand violence worldwide,’ he told Reuters.
Bruguiere goes on to explain that shoe-bomber Richard Reid and three other Westerns were trained in a Lashkar-e-Taiba camp by Pakistani soldiers who doubled as members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The training camp was supported by the Pakistani Army. “Military supplies were dropped by army helicopters,” Reuters reported.
Here is some background on the Lashkar-e-Taiba and al Qaeda given to me by US intelligence officials last year:
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2009/11/lashkaretaiba_is_a_member_of_a.php
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers36/paper3506.html
Paper no. 3506
16-Nov-2009
“The 313 Brigade - International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 579”
By B. Raman
SNIPPET: “There are two jihadi terrorist organisations by the name the 313 Brigade.”
SNIPPET: “19. The 313 Brigade of the IIF, which has been focussing on attacking Pakistani targets as distinguished from the 313 Brigade in J&K which attacks Indian targets, is a shadowy organisation. Media reports project Ilyas Kashmiri as the head of the 313 Brigade of the IIF. In a press interview, Ilyas himself has sought to give the impression that he heads it. He has been saying that unless the US and its collaborators in Pakistan are defeated, the so-called struggle against India in J&K will not progress. He thus now gives primacy to the jihadi campaign against the US and its alleged collaborators in Pakistan.
20. Ilyas sees himself as another Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and wants to carry out a spectacular terrorist strike in a Western country. The purpose of his trying to use David Coleman Headley, of Chicago arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Chicago on October 3, 2009, was for an attack on the Danish journal, which carried caricatures of the Prophet in 2005. A perusal of the FBI’s affidavit against Headley shows that while Ilyas wanted a Mumbai—26/11 style attack in Copenhagen, Headley felt that a more feasible option would be to assassinate the cartoonist and his Editor.
21. Where do the statements of the TTP claiming responsibility for attacks on Pakistani military personnel fit in? What is the relationship between the TTP, Ilyas and his 313 Brigade? What happened to the 313 Brigade of J&K? Does it continue its separate existence? Answers to these questions are not available.”
Thanks to a special freepmailer for pointing to this link.
#
http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/04/headley-used-women-as-cover-in-india.htm
“Headley used women as cover in India”
December 04, 2009 15:31 IST
Tags: David Coleman Headley, FBI, Mumbai, India, IB
SNIPPET: “”We are trying to ascertain whether the Moroccan was one of the women who could have helped guide the Mumbai terrorists during the attacks. Our investigations show that this woman had visited Mumbai on two occasions and met Headley during his stay here,” said an IB source.”
SNIPPET: “Indian investigators say that Headley was not a womaniser but used women as a perfect cover for his operations. The IB says that this is contrary to the image Headley portrayed during his interrogation by the FBI. He came across as a devout Muslim, who was very uncomfortable with women. He even objected to his mother running a pub and never mingled with women.
But in India he used women as a cover. Even while operating out of the US, he had used a make up artist from New York and termed her as his girlfriend.”
December 7, 2009
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://chicago.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/cg120709.htm
Chicagoan Charged with Conspiracy in 2008 Mumbai Attacks in Addition to Foreign Terror Plot in Denmark
Additional Charges Unsealed Alleging Retired Pakistani Major Conspired in Danish Plot
New federal charges filed today allege that a Chicago man, who was arrested in October for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees, also conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 terrorist attack on India’s largest city that killed approximately 170 people, including six Americans, and injured hundreds more.
The defendant, David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen, earlier this decade allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar e Tayyiba (Lashkar), and conspired with its members and others in planning and executing the attacks in both Denmark and India, federal law enforcement officials announced today.
Also today, a criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Chicago charging Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, with conspiracy in planning to attack the Danish newspaper and its employees. Another Chicago man, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, was arrested in October on federal charges filed in Chicago relating to the Danish terrorism plot.
Through his attorneys, Headley has authorized the Justice Department to disclose that he is cooperating in the ongoing investigation of both the Danish and Indian terror plots. He has remained in federal custody without bond since he was arrested in Chicago on Oct. 3, 2009.
No date has been set yet for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Headley, 49, was charged in a 12-count criminal information with six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places in India, to murder and maim persons in India and Denmark, to provide material support to foreign terrorist plots, and to provide material support to Lashkar, and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India.
The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the FBI’s offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are also participating in the case.
“This case serves as a reminder that the terrorist threat is global in nature and requires constant vigilance at home and abroad,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “We continue to share leads developed in this investigation with our foreign and domestic law enforcement partners as we work together on this important matter.”
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, said: “This case illustrates the importance of continued global cooperation to combat terrorism around the world. The FBI continues to strengthen relationships and to foster collaboration with our international partners to best ensure our collective ability to identify and disrupt international terror networks.”
“This investigation remains active and ongoing. The team of prosecutors and agents will continue to seek charges against the other persons responsible for these attacks. I continue to express my deep appreciation to the FBI agents and other members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their extremely hard work on this matter,” said Mr. Fitzgerald.
Mumbai Terror Attacks
According to the charges, after learning from members of Lashkar in late 2005 that he would be traveling to India to perform surveillance for Lashkar, Headley changed his name from Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, in order to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. He later made five extended trips to Mumbai — in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 — each time taking pictures and making videotapes of various targets, including those attacked in November 2008.
Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Nariman House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley allegedly had scouted in advance, killing approximately 170 victims.
The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr, and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.
Lashkar (the “Army of the Good”) operated in Pakistan for the principal purpose of fighting to separate from India portions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization on Dec. 26, 2001. Headley allegedly attended Lashkar training camps in Pakistan that began in February and August 2002 and August and December 2003.
After being tasked in late 2005 with gathering surveillance in Mumbai and changing his name in early 2006, the charges allege that Headley traveled to Chicago in June 2006 and advised a person identified in the charges as Individual A of his assignment. Headley obtained Individual A’s approval to open an office of First World Immigration Services in Mumbai in 2006 as cover for his surveillance activities, the charges allege. Headley allegedly misrepresented his birth name, father’s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application.
After each trip that Headley took to India between September 2006 and July 2008, he allegedly returned to Pakistan, met with other co-conspirators and provided them with photographs, videos and oral descriptions of various locations. In March 2008, Headley and his co-conspirators discussed potential landing sites for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea in Mumbai, and he was instructed to take boat trips in and around the Mumbai harbor and take surveillance video, which he did during his visit to India starting in April 2008, the charges allege.
At various times, Headley allegedly conducted surveillance of other locations in Mumbai and elsewhere in India of facilities and locations that were not attacked in November 2008, including the National Defense College in Delhi, India.
Denmark Terror Plot
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley allegedly conspired between October 2008 and Oct. 3, 2009, with Ilyas Kashmiri, as well as a person identified as Individual A, members of Lashkar and others to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, including murder and maiming, against the facilities of the Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and two of its employees, Editor A and Cartoonist A. In 2005, the newspaper published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, to which many Muslims took great offense.
Mirroring the initial charges filed against Headley in October, today’s charges allege that he met with co-conspirators while he was in Pakistan in late 2008 and discussed planning for the attack, including extensive surveillance work that he would perform. In late December and early January 2008, after advising Individual A of the planned attack and his intended travel to Denmark to perform surveillance of the newspaper’s facilities, Headley obtained Individual A’s approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspaper by falsely expressing interest in advertising the business in the newspaper. At the same time, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with co-conspirators to continue planning for the attack and coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. Before departing Chicago, Headley obtained business cards that identified him as a representative of First World, according to the charges.
Headley allegedly traveled in January 2009 from Chicago to Copenhagen, Denmark, to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark, and videotaped the surrounding areas. From January through May 2009, Headley met with co-conspirators, including Kashmiri, on multiple occasions in Pakistan to review his surveillance and discuss plans for the attack, the charges allege, adding that Headley traveled in August 2009 from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct additional surveillance and made approximately 13 videos. On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to meet with, and deliver, the approximately 13 surveillance videos to co-conspirators, including Kashmiri.
The charges identify Kashmiri as an influential leader of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), an organization that trained terrorists and executed attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian control and other areas. Kashmiri based his operations from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of western Pakistan, and area which served as a haven for terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda and the Taliban. Headley allegedly was introduced to Kashmiri as early as February 2009, and understood that Kashmiri was in regular communication with the senior leadership of al Qaeda.
Abdur Rehman complaint
The two-count complaint unsealed against Abdur Rehman, which was filed on Oct. 20, 2009, charges him with conspiracy to murder and maim persons in a foreign country, and providing material support to that foreign terrorism conspiracy. Abdur Rehman allegedly participated in the planning of a terrorist attack in Denmark, coordinated surveillance of the intended targets, and facilitated communications regarding the surveillance and planning with a member of Lashkar and Kashmiri.
Abdur Rehman, who was not named previously but whose alleged participation was described in the initial charges against Headley and Rana, allegedly played the central role in communicating with Headley and facilitating contacts with other co-conspirators in Pakistan, including members of Lashkar. During Headley’s trip to Pakistan in January 2009, Abdur Rehman took him to the FATA region of Pakistan to meet with Kashmiri and solicit the participation of Kashmiri and his organization in the planned attack on the Danish newspaper, according to the complaint against Abdur Rehman. A search of Headley’s luggage when he was arrested revealed a list of phone numbers, including a Pakistani number that he allegedly had used to contact Abdur Rehman.
The count against Headley charging conspiracy to bomb public places in India that resulted in deaths carries a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment or death. All of the other counts against Headley carry a maximum of life imprisonment, except providing material support to the Denmark terror plot, which carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.
The conspiracy to murder or maim persons in a foreign country charge against Abdur Rehman carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and the count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The prosecution of Headley and Abdur Rehman is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Victoria J. Peters from the Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. The investigation into the Mumbai attacks is continuing with the active participation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
The public is reminded that criminal charging documents contain mere allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ping
Thanks to a special freepmailer for pointing to this link.
Note: The following text is a quote:
Headley misrepresented facts while applying for India visa
PTI 8 December 2009, 12:35pm IST
WASHINGTON: Pakistani-origin American national David Coleman Headley, charged with criminal conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attacks, had misrepresented facts while applying for an Indian visa, the FBI has charged.
“In applying for his visa to travel to India, Headley misrepresented his birth name, father’s true name and the purpose for his travel,” the FBI said in its 12-count chargesheet filed against him in a Chicago court.
For applying for a visa to travel to India, he took the help of his school-time friend Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who ran an immigration service in Chicago, named the First World Immigration Services.
Rana, a 48-year-old Canadian of Pakistani-origin, too has been arrested by the FBI on terror charges. Headley, 49, obtained Rana’s approval to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for this activity.
The FBI chargesheet alleges that Rana instructed one of his employees to prepare documents to support Headley’s cover story and advised him on how to obtain a visa for travel to India.
According to the charge sheet, Headley approached Rana for help after being tasked by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in late 2005 with gathering surveillance in Mumbai.
After changing his name from Dawood Gilani to David Coleman Headley to conceal his Muslim identity during his planned visit to India, he travelled to Chicago where he obtained a visa.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408305/posts
India’s suspicion about US caginess over Headley deepens
The Times of India ^ | 16 December 2009
Posted on December 15, 2009 3:50:38 PM PST by cold start
NEW DELHI: India’s suspicion that US was not coming clean on David Coleman Headley, the US-based Lashkar jehadi who facilitated 26/11 by providing Ajmal Kasab and others with precise information about their targets, has deepened.
The growing disquiet in the government here which believes that Headley was a US agent who went rogue was expressed by a senior government official. “It is very strange that the US did not inform us of Headley’s visit to India in March this year when he, by their own account, had been under their surveillance since at least September 2008,” the official said, pointing out that India would have arrested the terrorist had it known about his identity.
“We suspect that the reluctance is because Headley was a double agent and the Americans may not like him to be exposed to Indian agencies,” the official said.
He also echoed the suspicion that Headley may be negotiating a deal with the US for a lighter sentence in exchange for more information about jehadis, including his co-accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
The growing belief here that Headley was an agent who went rogue, as first reported by TOI on November 27, stems from his history as an agent of the US’s Drug Enforcement Agency. As already established, the US-based Lashkar jehadi was arrested for drug trafficking in 1997. He got away with a light sentence after he squealed on drug traffickers.
The collaboration, investigation by US media suggests, deepened in the following years and Headley was allowed to go to Pakistan soon after 9/11 terror attacks on the US. In his new role, he is suspected to have worked for the CIA which has huge covert operations going on in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In any case, DEA and CIA agents working in Af-Pak region routinely segue into each other’s roles to fight terrorism fuelled by proceeds of opium smuggling.
Because of his Pakistani origin, Headley successfully infiltrated the jehadi groups, particularly Lashkar-e-Toiba, and kept briefing the Americans on the jehadi outfit’s plans, including the one to attack Mumbai in September last year.
But the loyalties of Headley, who was raised as a Muslim, started tipping towards jehadi outfits and the Americans did not realise this till they were caught unawares by 26/11.
Headley, who has visceral hatred for India, as disclosed by his former wife to Philadelphia Inquirer, had obviously kept the plot from his American handlers.
The Inquirer, in its report, highlighted this fact. Quoting Headley’s ex-wife, the report said, “Infidels. He (Headley) would use words like that when he would see an Indian person in the street, he used to spit, spit in the street to make a point”.
The surveillance on him confirmed the “defection” to the jehadi camp, bringing out his plan to attack the Danish newspaper and Jewish targets as well as links with dreaded terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri who hates India and the US with equal intensity.
But while Headley has been arrested, Americans may be loath to allow Indians direct access to him and not just for the fear of uncomfortable details of their previous collaboration. The jehadi, who was earlier known as Daood Salim Gilani, has been very forthcoming and his testimony may be crucial for the conviction of Rana who has become a bigger target for the US because of suspicion that he may have used his immigration firm to bring in Pakistanis of suspect credentials into the US on forged travel documents.
The FBI affidavit against Rana makes it clear that the two have fallen out with Rana claiming that he was duped by Headley. Rana has been keeping mum while Headley has been cooerating with the interogators, FBI sources have confirmed to US media.
Headley, who moved extensively in Pakistan and Afghanistan and can be a reservoir of information for the US counter-terrorism effort, is also suspected to have made it plain to Americans that his cooperation was contingent upon his being kept off limits for Indians.
There is an appreciation of the compulsion of US agencies. The fact that it was FBI which tipped off about Lashkar’s plans and was crucial to the breakthrough in the 26/11 probe is also widely acknowledged.
But there is growing frustration with the delay in accessing information about and from Headley. In fact, the official’s criticism came on a day when FBI’s fresh chargesheet against Headley’s co-accused Rana listed details that the American agency had initially not shared with their Indian counterparts. The document filed by the FBI in a Chicago court seeking Rana’s continued detention mentioned Gujarat’s Somnath temple and Bollywood stars among targets identified by Lashkar.
FBI’s chargesheet against Headley was silent about these targets. “Why are they sharing things in bits and pieces on a matter that is so crucial for us”, said another official familiar with the details of the cooperation with the American investigating agency.
The matter has even acquired political dimension with CPM, known for its anti-US stand, pouncing upon it. The matter was raised by Brinda Karat in Rajya Sabha.
Headley’s dealings with US agencies dates to 1988, almost 10 years before his arrest in New York, when he caught in Frankfurt for smuggling drugs. He was handed over to DEA. Even then, he got off with a lighter sentence by testifying against his partners. Referring to those arrests, Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday reported, “It quickly became clear to federal law enforcement officials in New York that Headley knew a great deal about heroin trade between US and Pakstan and was wiling to cooperate. Headley went to work for DEA, making heroin cases against at least three Pakistani men”.
Indian investigators, meanwhile, found that Headley during his multiple visits to India had spent a lot of money running into lakhs of rupees through credit cards issued by American banks and in fake Indian currency, believed to have been brought from Pakistan.
“It is found during the probe that in most of the instances where Headley had paid cash amount, a few currency notes in the entire payment would be fake which he had procured during his trips to Pakistan”, said an official.
Indian investigators are now trying to find out who had paid his credit card bills in the American banks.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408636/posts
“Thanks to Chicago Terrorists, India Changes Visa Rules”
NBC ^ | 16 Dec 2009
Posted on December 16, 2009 5:33:55 AM PST by cold start
Note: Regarding Rana:
http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/38-main.pdf
http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/38-1.pdf
http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/38-2.pdf
http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/38-3.pdf
#
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=7203704
“Chicago terror suspect is Pakistani army deserter”
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Chuck Goudie
January 6, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS)
“Tahawwur Rana’s 49th birthday spent inside Chicago prison”
PTI
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 20:49 IST
SNIPPET: “Chicago: Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, arrested by FBI on terror charges, spent his 49th birthday today behind the confines of Chicago prison facility as his bail plea was not heard by the court last week.
The hopes of Rana to celebrate his birthday with his family had dashed after he failed to secure release...”
SNIPPET: “Rana, who has been in custody since October 18 last year, has been kept in Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago which is an administrative facility designed to house prisoners of all security levels, appearing before Federal courts.
His family is claiming that charges against him are baseless and he has been framed. His brother Abbas Rana who is a reporter with Hill Times weekly, has mentioned that his brother was innocent.”
NOTE: The following text is a quote:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-nsd-038.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, January 14, 2010
Tahawwur Rana and David Headley Indicted for Alleged Roles in India and Denmark Terrorism Conspiracies
Ilyas Kashmiri & Retired Pakistan Major Charged in Denmark Plot
A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Tahawwur Rana, to charges filed last month against David Coleman Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans.
The 12-count superseding indictment contains the identical charges that were filed against Headley on Dec. 7, 2009, while adding Rana as a defendant in three of the counts charging material support of the terrorism plots in Denmark and India, as well as in support of the designated foreign terrorist organization Lashkar e Tayyiba. Also indicted were Ilyas Kashmiri, an allegedly influential terrorist organization leader in Pakistan who is alleged to be in regular contact with leaders of al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, both of whom were charged in two conspiracy counts relating to the Denmark terrorism plot.
Both Rana and Abdur Rehman were charged separately in previous court filings, but today’s indictment charges Kashmiri for the first time, although he was identified by name in the charges filed previously against Rana, Abdur Rehman and Headley.
Rana, 49, a Canadian citizen, Chicago resident and native of Pakistan, has remained in federal custody in Chicago since he was arrested on Oct. 18, 2009, in connection with the planned attack in Denmark. He was indicted today on three counts of providing material support to terrorism or a terrorist organization — one count of providing material support in preparation for and in carrying out the Mumbai attacks; one count of providing material support to the Denmark terrorism plot; and one count of providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba (Lashkar.) Translated as the “Army of the Good,” Lashkar operated in Pakistan for the principal purpose of fighting to separate from India portions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Lashkar was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in December 2001.
No date has been set yet for Rana to be arraigned in federal court in Chicago. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber.
Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, also known as “Major Abdur Rehman” and “Pasha,” were each charged with one count of conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to the Danish terrorism plot. Neither man is in U.S. custody.
Headley, 49, a U.S. citizen and Chicago resident, faces the same 12 counts that were filed against him last month — six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, and providing material support to Lashkar, and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India. Headley has remained in federal custody in Chicago since he was arrested in Chicago on Oct. 3, 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges but previously authorized the Justice Department to disclose that he is cooperating in the ongoing investigation.
In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar, and conspired with its members and others, including Rana, Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, in planning and executing the attacks in Denmark and India. He allegedly conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.
Mumbai Terror Attacks
According to the charges, unnamed Lashkar Member A, who served as a “handler” for Headley and another person associated with Lashkar, advised Headley in late 2005 that Headley would be traveling to India to perform surveillance of potential targets for Lashkar. Headley changed his given name of Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, enabling him to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the spring of 2006, Lashkar Member A and a Lashkar associate discussed with Headley the idea that he could open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.
In approximately June 2006, Headley allegedly traveled to Chicago, advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India, and obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities. Rana allegedly directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headley’s cover story of opening a First World office in Mumbai, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India. Headley misrepresented his birth name, his father’s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application, the indictment alleges.
In July 2006, unnamed Person A in Pakistan gave Headley approximately $25,000 to establish and operate the Mumbai office of First World and to pay for living expenses while Headley carried out his assignment for Lashkar, the charges add.
Headley later made five extended trips to Mumbai — in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 — each time taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008, and using his association with First World as cover for his travels. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance photos and videos.
During his meetings with Lashkar members and associates in Pakistan after the September 2007 surveillance trip to Mumbai, Lashkar Member A showed Headley a styrofoam mockup of the Taj Mahal hotel, and Person A provided Headley with approximately $2,000 worth of Indian currency for expenses, according to the indictment. Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Lashkar Member A provided Headley with an additional $1,000 worth of Indian currency. In addition, Lashkar Members A and B provided Headley with a global positioning system device and showed him how to use it to record the locations of possible landing sites and potential targets in Mumbai, which Headley then used during his surveillance trips in April and July 2008, the charges state.
Before the July 2008 visit, Person A provided an additional $1,500 worth of Indian currency to Headley to keep the First World office open, but approved closing that office in the future and opening a new business in Delhi, India, to be used as cover for future activities. During Headley’s July 2008 surveillance mission, Person A communicated with Headley by passing messages to him through Rana, the indictment alleges.
Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley allegedly had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims.
The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.
Denmark Terror Plot
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley allegedly conspired between October 2008, and Oct. 3, 2009, with Kashmiri, Abdur Rehman and others to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, including murder and maiming, against the facilities of the Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and two of its employees, Editor A and Cartoonist A. In 2005, the newspaper had published 12 cartoons, some of which depicted the Prophet Mohammed, setting off protests throughout the Muslim world. In early 2008, the Jyllands-Posten and other Danish newspapers republished one of the cartoons which had drawn particularly strong criticism.
Today’s indictment alleges that Headley met with Lashkar Member A in Pakistan in October 2008 and discussed the prospect of an attack on the newspaper, including extensive surveillance work that Headley would perform. Lashkar Member A allegedly provided Headley with a thumb drive containing information about Denmark, the city of Copenhagen, and the newspaper. In late December 2008 and early January 2009, after reviewing with Rana how he had performed surveillance of the targets attacked in Mumbai, Headley advised Rana of the planned attack on the Danish newspaper and his intended travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance of its facilities. Headley allegedly obtained Rana’s approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspaper’s offices by falsely expressing interest in placing advertising for First World in the newspaper. At the same time, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. Before departing Chicago, Headley and Rana caused business cards to be made that identified Headley as a representative of the Immigration Law Center, the business name of First World, according to the charges.
Headley allegedly traveled in January 2009, from Chicago to Copenhagen, Denmark, to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and to videotape the surrounding areas. On Jan. 29, 2009, Rana, posing as Headley, allegedly sent an email to the Jyllands-Posten pretending to be interested in placing an advertisement in the newspaper on behalf of First World.
In late January 2009, Headley traveled to Pakistan and met separately to discuss the planning with Abdur Rehman and Lashkar Member A. In February 2009, Abdur Rehman allegedly took Headley to meet with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan. During the meeting, Kashmiri allegedly indicated that he had reviewed the surveillance videos made by Headley and suggested using a truck bomb in the operation. Kashmiri further indicated that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar’s participation was not necessary, the indictment alleges. Subsequently, in March 2009, Lashkar Member A advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, according to the charges.
In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman met again with Kashmiri in Waziristan and Kashmiri allegedly directed Headley to meet with his European contacts who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the newspaper attack. In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe, including Copenhagen, attempting to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts and, while there, made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos, according to the charges.
In September 2009, Headley and Rana allegedly spoke about reports that Kashmiri had been killed in a drone attack and the implications of his possible death for the plan to attack the newspaper. Later that month, Abdur Rehman, from Pakistan, allegedly called Headley to report that Kashmiri was not killed and was anxious to move forward with attacking the newspaper. In the late summer of 2009, Rana and Headley allegedly agreed that funds that had been provided to Rana could be used to fund Headley’s work in Denmark.
On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to meet with and deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri, the indictment alleges.
The charges identify Kashmiri as an influential leader of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), an organization that trained terrorists and executed attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian control and other areas. Kashmiri based his operations from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of western Pakistan, an area which served as a haven for terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. Kashmiri allegedly was in regular contact with al Qaeda and in particular with an al Qaeda leader, Mustafa Abu al Yazid, also known as “Sheik Said al Masri.”
According to the indictment, in June 2008, al Qaeda, through its media wing known as “As Sahab Media,” took credit for an attack on the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohamed first published in the Jyllands-Posten in 2005. In August 2008, al Qaeda released a video through As Sahab Media calling for further attacks in retaliation for the publication of the cartoons, and Mustafa Abu al Yazid, among others, appeared in the video. The indictment alleges that in July 2009, Headley provided the al Qaeda video to Rana in Chicago.
The counts against Headley charging conspiracy to bomb public places in India that resulted in deaths and aiding and abetting the murders of U.S. nationals each carry a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment or death. All of the other counts against Headley carry a maximum of life imprisonment, except providing material support to the Denmark terror plot — against all four defendants — carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.
The other two material support counts against Rana, and the conspiracy to murder and maim people in Denmark against Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, also carry a maximum of life in prison.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Victoria J. Peters, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Grigg and Janet Hudson of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
http://www.zeenews.com/news597628.html
David Headley, Tahawwur Rana to be arraigned next week
Updated on Thursday, January 21, 2010, 08:58 IST Tags:David Headley, Tahawwur Rana, Mumbai terror plot
SNIPPET: “Chicago: Terror suspects David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana, indicted on charges of being involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, will be arraigned in a court here next week.
The arraignment of Rana and Headley was initially scheduled for today but have now been rescheduled. While Pakistani-Canadian citizen Rana will be arraigned on January 25, Pakistani-American Headley’s arraignment has been set for January 27 before US Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys in US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, US Attorney?s Office spokesman Randall Samborn said.
Further, a status hearing that was scheduled for today in Rana’s appeal of detention has also been cancelled and not yet been rescheduled, Samborn said.
Chicagoans Headley and Rana were indicted on January 14 by a federal grand jury on charges of being involved in the Mumbai attacks and planning a terror strike against a Danish newspaper in Copenhagen.”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/chicago-mumbai-jihad-suspect-pleads-not-guilty.html
(CHICAGO SUN TIMES)
January 25, 2010
“Chicago: Mumbai jihad suspect pleads not guilty”
SNIPPET: “The other man, David Coleman Headley, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Chicago.”
SNIPPET: “Rana, who is being housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, is appealing a ruling that says he must stay behind bars pending trial. He’s seeking to be freed on bail.
Blegen said his client has no intention of fleeing and leaving his family holding the bag. “He wants to fight this,” Blegen said.”
“’ISI, LeT getting Indian jihadis together in Karachi for attack’”
Shishir Gupta
Posted: Feb 01, 2010 at 0349 hrs IST
SNIPPET: “New Delhi The ISI has put together a team of Indian jihadis in Karachi, and is waiting to launch them into the country on a terrorist project, alleged terror suspects David Coleman Headley and Mohammad Amjad Khwaja have told their interrogators.
Headley was arrested by the FBI in Chicago in October last year, and is accused of recceing Mumbai and other Indian cities for the Lashkar-e-Toiba as part of the preparations for 26/11. Khwaja, belonging to the Harkat-ul Jihad-i Islami, was arrested on January 18, and is being held in Hyderabad.
Headley has described the “Karachi project” to FBI interrogators, details of which have been shared with New Delhi, sources said. He is believed to have said that both the ISI and the Lashkar have been training Indian nationals in terrorist activities, and using them for anti-India “projects” from time to time.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also been able to unearth significant details about Headley’s movements in Pakistan through his e-mail correspondence. Contents of his Gmail account were shared with New Delhi following an official request to Google.”
SNIPPET: “Evidence of the ISI-Lashkar Karachi project has also come independently from HuJI man Khwaja, who was picked up by Chennai Police on his return from Saudi Arabia on a Pakistani passport. Top sources said Khwaja has told his interrogators that a large number of highly-indoctrinated jihadi Indian nationals have been housed in the Pakistani port city.”