Posted on 01/14/2010 3:49:28 PM PST by Cindy
NOTE: The following text is a quote:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-nsd-038.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, 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.
BACKGROUND LINK WITH UPDATES:
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367275/posts
FBI raid at meat processor believed tied to immigration irregularities [UPDATE:TERROR PLOT -ARRESTS]
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com ^ | October 20, 2009 | Tribune staff report
Posted on October 21, 2009 12:39:00 AM PDT by Cindy
SNIPPET: “Search at Grundy County plant called part of ongoing probe”
SNIPPET: “But a source said the owner of the plant, which processes lamb and goat, was taken into custody at his home in Chicago.
Documents and records were taken from the plant and from a Chicago travel agency on West Devon Avenue, also owned by the same person, the source said.”
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
"Tahawwur Rana"
pronounced,"tah-hah-wuh-wuh-eer?"
may they all become pig excrement in short order!
mere capital punishment is too easy for such scum -— especially since it won’t happen for about 15 yrs if at all
They should be buried alive in leftovers from a slaughterhouse for pigs, topped off with ample quantities of pig excrement
US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov/opa - Press Release: "TAHAWWUR RANA AND DAVID HEADLEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED ROLES IN INDIA AND DENMARK TERRORISM CONSPIRACIES Ilyas Kashmiri & Retired Pakistan Major Charged in Denmark Plot" (SNIPPET: "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.") (January 14, 2010)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "CHICAGO IMMIGRATION AGENCY A FRONT FOR TERROR PLOT, FEDERAL PROBERS ALLEGE U.s. Probe Targets Operations of First World Immigration" by Antonio Olivo (SNIPPET: "Federal prosecutors charge that the Immigration center served as a front in a Chicago-based terror plot to bomb a Danish newspaper that in 2005 outraged Muslims worldwide when it published unflattering caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. First World's owner, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, also knew in advance of plans for the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, which killed 172 people, federal prosecutors allege. Randall Samborn, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, said last week that federal authorities are working to determine the Immigration status of people who entered the U.S. with the agency's help. The alleged plot is one of several cases raising new concerns about U.S.-based terror plots.") (January 3, 2010)
TIMESnow.tv: "HEADLEY, KASAV'S HANDLER DECLARES WAR ON INDIA" (SNIPPET: "Al-Qaeda and HuJI commander Ilyas Kashmiri has issued a chilling warning to India in a letter that he sent to terror outfits. Kashmiri says he knows the routes to send suicide bombing squads into the country. Ilyas Kashmiri, the face of the Al Qaeda in NWFP is now training guns on India. TIMES NOW has accessed the copy of Kashmiri's letter, sent to various jehadi outfits calling for more terror attacks in India -- underlining a new strategy to spread terror.") (18 Dec 2009, 0854 hrs IST)
News.REDIFF.com: "DECEPTIVE ANSWERS AT THE AIRPORT LED TO HEADLEY'S ARREST" (SNIPPET: "Headley's cellphone was registered to a dead man, as was his Chicago apartment, according to the FBI. He changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006 to further his cover, according to the FBI.") (Last updated December 9, 2009, 14:55 IST)
Chicago.FBI.gov - DOJ Press Release: "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" (SNIPPET: "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.") (December 7, 2009)
OTTAWA CITIZEN.com: "NEW SUSPECT LINKED TO CARTOON PLOT Man detained at behest of FBI may have connection" (SNIPPET: "Illyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani military officer and now a reputed commander of the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) militant group, is believed to have been detained by Pakistan at the behest of the FBI, according to an unconfirmed report in The Times of India." SNIPPET: "If confirmed, Kashmiri's arrest will expand the global nature of the case, which already has connections to Chicago, Copenhagen, Mumbai and Kanata.") (November 24, 2009)
HINDUSTAN TIMES.com (PRESS TRUST OF INDIA): London - "PAKISTANI FATHER-SON DUO HELD IN ITALY OVER MUMBAI ATTACKS" (SNIPPET: "They said Indian agencies are also trying to find out whether the arrested persons had any links with David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana...") (Last updated November 21, 2009, 15:01 IST)
PAJAMAS MEDIA.com - blog: "U.S. NOW EXPORTS TERROR: AMERICAN LINKED TO MUMBAI ATTACK A Chicago-area raid looks to have captured a planner of the massacre." by Rusty Shackleford (November 17, 2009)
INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT.org - For The Record - blog: "BOLLYWOOD ACTOR CAST IN REAL-LIFE CHICAGO TERROR PLOT" (November 16, 2009)
GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE.org (REUTERS): "SECURITY INCREASED AT INDIAN NUCLEAR SITES OVER POSSIBLE ATTACK" (November 16, 2009)
GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE.org (AP): "PAKISTANI TERRORISTS PLOTTING NEW ATTACKS IN INDIA, SINGH WARNS" (August 17, 2009)
TIMES OF INDIA: New Delhi - "HOTELS TOLD TO KEEP EYE ON FOREIGNERS" by Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN (SNIPPET: "The David Headley case has spurred Delhi Police into stepping up its vigil on foreign tourists...") (November 16, 2009, 12:43 am IST)
TELEGRAPH INDIA.com: 'HEADLEY MAPPED ALL '26/11 TARGETS' - U.S. SUSPECT POSED AS JEW: POLICE" by Samyabrata Ray Goswami (SNIPPET: "The FBI seized a book called HOW TO PRAY LIKE A JEW from him at the time of his arrest in Chicago. He had prepared himself thoroughly to pose as a Jew," the officer said.") (November 15, 2009)SOUTH ASIA ANALYSIS GROUP - Paper no. 3506: "THE 313 BRIGADE - International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 579" by B. Raman (SNIPPET: "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.") (November 16, 2009)INDIAN EXPRESS.com - News: "HEADLEY AT THE TAJ, RANA ACROSS INDIA" (SNIPPET: "Meanwhile, a real estate agent, Sunny Singh, presented himself to the media today claiming that Headley approached him as recently as just over a month ago looking to rent an apartment in Bandra. "He came with a woman called Anna whom he introduced as his wife. He told me he had come with a reference from another woman named Marina," Singh claimed. "He was willing to pay around Rs 50,000 and a deal was nearly final but things did not work out when he refused to give his visa documents and a letter from his employer."") (Posted November 14, 2009, 0927 hrs)LONG WAR JOURNAL - Threat Matrix - blog: "PAKISTANI GENERALS LINKED TO U.S. TERROR SUSPECTS" by Bill Roggio (November 13, 2009)
NEWS.MSN.com: "FBI GETS 60 DAYS TO FILE CHARGES AGAINST INDIA TERROR PLOTTERS" (SNIPPET: "Chicago court’s chief Judge James F. Holderman has extended till next Jan 1, the period of filing indictment against the accused duo, David Coleman Headley, a Pakistan-born American national, and his Pakistan-born Canadian associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana.") (November 12, 2009)
SOUTH ASIA ANALYSIS GROUP - Paper no. 3500: "Extracts from FBI Affidavit Regarding Headley's Contacts With Individual A & Let Member A: International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 575" by B. Raman (November 11, 2009)
INDIA-SERVER.com: India - "GOVT WARNS CITIZENS AGAINST TERROR ATTACKS IN FIVE MAJOR CITIES" (SNIPPET: "This Home Ministry alert is based on the inputs available from FBI, which they obtained while interrogating David Headley. It is supported by Indian intelligence agencies' inputs. Reports have mentioned that Headley was in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Agra and Ahmedabad between 2006 and 2009 and hence the alerts are mainly for these cities.") (Last updated November 12, 2009)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "U.S. CITES AL-QAIDA DVDs IN PRESSING FOR SUSPECT'S DETAINMENT Chicago man allegedly plotted to attack Danish newspaper, target in India" by Jeff Coen (SNIPPET: "A federal judge could decide on Nov. 19 whether to release Rana, owner of a Chicago immigration business and a Grundy County meat processing plant, on bond pending trial.") (November 10, 2009)
OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "HEADLEY & RANA - FROM CHICAGO TO COPENHAGEN WITH LOVE" (SNIPPET: "My read of the complaints is that Headley was involved in ongoing efforts to support Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, primarily by travelling to prospective sites of future targets and conducting surveillance. I suspect that there is more to Rana providing support to Headley than just the fact that they both attended the same military academy.") (October 30, 2009)
TIMES OF INDIA: Washington - "TOP PAK DIPLOMAT KNEW U.S. LASHKAR OPERATIVES: FBI" (SNIPPET: "Pakistan's Consul General in Chicago personally knew both David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, nabbed by the FBI for planning to carry out a major terror attack in India at the behest of LeT, the US authorities have claimed.") (October 30, 2009, 2:02 pm IST)
Chicago.FBI.gov - DOJ Press Release: Chicago - "TWO CHICAGO MEN CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH ALLEGED ROLES IN FOREIGN TERROR PLOT THAT FOCUSED ON TARGETS IN DENMARK" (SNIPPET: "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...") (October 27, 2009)
DINAH LORD - blog (WBBM780.com): "BREAKING: 2 MEN ARRESTED IN CHICAGO ON TERROR CHARGES" (SNIPPET: "WBBM's Regine Schlesinger reports the US Attorney's office in Chicago alleges that 49 year old David Coleman Headley. an American citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani, and 48 year old Tahawar Rana, a Canadian citizen who lives in Chicago, were involved in a plot to support or carry out terror attacks.") (October 27, 2009, 9:26 am)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "2ND CHICAGO MAN TIED TO TERROR PLOT Man taken into custody at O'Hare was allegedly to meet with people linked to terrorist organizations" by Hal Dardick and Jeff Coen (SNIPPET: "The man was taken into custody Oct. 3 before he boarded a flight at O'Hare International Airport to Philadelphia, the first stop on a trip to Pakistan..." SNIPPET: "The owner of the plant, Tahawar Hussain Rana, also of Chicago, was arrested at his North Side home the same day as the raid on First World Management Services in Kinsman, northwest of Dwight." SNIPPET: "Rana financially supported the man involved in the terrorist plot, as well as the man's family, the source said.") (October 27, 2009)
TIMESonline.co.uk: "MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS: AND THEN THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS" (SNIPPET: "One more question remains: how did the terrorists and their handlers apparently know the layout of Nariman House, and the schedule of its inhabitants, so well? Suspicion has fallen on Jackie, the Muslim cook. Since the siege, he says he has had about 100 interviews with police and officials, including Israelis. Solomon Sopher, a leader of the Mumbai Jewish community, says he thinks Jackie is suspected not of direct collusion with terrorists, but perhaps of unwittingly revealing information to scouts who struck up a friendship with him. Jackie denies this, and it is probable that if there were evidence against him, he would have been charged.") (November 1, 2009)
ON THE INTERNET:
http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/cartoonjihad/index
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/mumbaimassacre/index
#
Previously...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2138741/posts
“Breaking : SHOOTOUTS IN MUMBAI [A lot of people killed and injured]”
CNN IBN ^ | Wed, Nov 26, 2008
Posted on 11/26/2008 9:39:53 AM PST by Indian_Fighter_Kite
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3892/maximum-sentence-sought-in-danish-cartoon-plot
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Maximum Sentence Sought in Danish Cartoon Plot”
by IPT News • Jan 15, 2013 at 3:34 pm
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2013/tahawwur-rana-sentenced-to-14-years-in-prison-for-supporting-pakistani-terror-group-and-terror-plot-in-denmark
Tahawwur Rana Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Supporting Pakistani Terror Group and Terror Plot in Denmark
U.S. Department of Justice
January 17, 2013
Office of Public Affairs
CHICAGO—A Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist plot in Denmark and providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in Pakistan that was responsible for the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. The defendant, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, was convicted of the charges on June 9, 2011, following a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Rana, 52, a Canadian citizen, was ordered to serve 14 years, followed by five years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. “This certainly was a dastardly plot,” Judge Leinenweber said in imposing the sentence.
Rana was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a plot from October 2008 to October 2009 to commit murder in Denmark, including a horrific plan to behead employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen, as well as providing material support, from late 2005 to October 2009, to Lashkar, a militant jihadist organization operating in Pakistan. Lashkar planned and carried out the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, before initially planning the terrorist attack in Denmark in retaliation for the newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Rana was acquitted of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks.
“This serious prison sentence should go a long way towards convincing would-be terrorists that they can’t hide behind the scenes, lend support to the violent aims of terrorist organizations, and escape detection and punishment,” said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
“Today’s sentence demonstrates that, just as vigorously as we pursue terrorists and their organizations, we will also pursue those who facilitate their violent plots from a safe distance. As established at trial, Tahawwur Rana provided critical support to David Headley and other terrorists from his base in the United States, knowing they were plotting attacks overseas. I thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about today’s result,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
“It is my hope that the judge’s decision today sends a message to those who plot attacks and those who provide the support to make the plots possible, both here and abroad, that you will be held accountable for your actions. Our mission, detecting and preventing terrorist acts and eliminating the enabling support provided by terrorist sympathizers, remains our top priority,” said Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI.
Rana is one of two defendants to be convicted, among a total of eight defendants who have been indicted, in this case since late 2009. Co-defendant David Coleman Headley, 52, pleaded guilty in March 2010 to 12 terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai. Headley, who is scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday, has cooperated with the government since he was arrested in October 2009 and testified as a government witness at Rana’s trial. He is facing a maximum of life in prison.
The evidence at Rana’s trial showed that he knew he was assisting a terrorist organization and murderers, knew their violent goals, and readily agreed to play an essential role in achieving their aims. The government contended that Rana knew the objective of his co-conspirators was to retaliate against and influence the Danish government for its perceived role in the publication of the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, and he knew that the goal of Lashkar was to retaliate against and influence the Indian and Danish governments and intended that the support he provided—enabling Headley’s activities—would be used toward that purpose.
In a post-arrest statement in October 2009, Rana admitted knowing that Lashkar was a terrorist organization and that Headley had attended training camps that Lashkar operated in Pakistan. Headley testified that he attended the training camps on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks three years later that killed more than 160 people and wounded hundreds more.
In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities. Headley testified that he traveled to Chicago and advised Rana, his long-time friend since the time they attended high school together in Pakistan, of his assignment to scout potential targets in India. Headley 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 directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headley’s cover story and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India, according to Headley’s testimony, as well as e-mails and other documents that corroborated his account.
Between November 26-28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades, and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, some of which Headley had scouted in advance.
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley testified that in the fall of 2008, he met with a Lashkar member in Karachi, Pakistan, and was instructed to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus.
In late 2008 and early 2009, after reviewing with Rana how he had performed surveillance of the targets attacked in Mumbai, Headley testified that he advised Rana of the planned attack in Denmark and his intended travel there to conduct surveillance of the newspaper’s facilities. Headley 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. 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 evidence at trial.
The trial evidence also included transcripts of recorded conversations, including those in September 2009, when Headley and Rana spoke about reports that a co-defendant, Ilyas Kashmiri, an alleged Pakistani terrorist leader, had been killed and the implications of his possible death for the plan to attack the newspaper. In other conversations, Rana told Headley that the attackers involved in the Mumbai attacks should receive Pakistan’s highest posthumous military honors. In late summer of 2009, Rana and Headley agreed that funds that had been provided to Rana could be used to fund Headley’s work in Denmark, and the evidence showed that Rana pretended to be Headley in sending an e-mail to the Danish newspaper.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Sarah E. Streicker, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have worked on a broader investigation of the Mumbai attacks. The investigation has been conducted by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from FBI offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., as well as both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
http://www.investigativeproject.org/2962/chicago-businessman-found-guilty-on-two-counts-in
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Chicago Businessman Found Guilty on Two Counts in Terrorism Trial”
Jun 9, 2011 at 11:26 pm
SNIPPET: “Tahawwur Rana was acquitted on the charge of conspiring to provide material support to the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist strike that killed over 160 people, including six Americans.
The verdict came after two days of jury deliberations following a trial that began May 16.
Prosecutors alleged Rana’s immigration company provided cover to American Lashkar operative David Headley to scout targets for the Mumbai attacks. David Headley pleaded guilty last year to his role in plotting the attacks and was the prosecution’s star witness in the trial.
In his testimony, Headley said Rana knew about the plot and supported it. He also testified that members of Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services, the ISI, also helped plot and finance the attacks.
Headley’s testimony was corroborated by other evidence presented at the trial, including e-mails, tape recordings and videotaped admissions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Peters said in her closing arguments Tuesday.
Prosecutors also claimed Rana assisted Headley in a plot to attack the offices of the Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten. The newspaper’s 2005 publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad had unleashed a wave of protests across the Muslim world.”
UPDATE:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3893/chicago-businessman-sentenced-to-14-years-in
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Chicago Businessman Sentenced to 14 Years in Danish Terror Plot”
by Abha Shankar • Jan 17, 2013 at 3:53 pm
SNIPPET: “A Pakistan-born Chicago businessman was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for his role in a plot to attack a Danish newspaper and providing material support to the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
A federal jury in Chicago convicted Tahawwur Rana of the charges in June 2011 following a three-week trial. Jurors acquitted him of providing material support for the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 164 people, including six Americans.
In a sentencing memo filed earlier this week, prosecutors sought the maximum sentence of 30 years, arguing Rana and his accomplices desired to perpetrate “murder on a grand, horrific scale.”
Rana was a lifelong friend of American Lashkar operative David Headley, who pleaded guilty to charges related to scouting targets in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Prosecutors alleged Headley used the Mumbai office of Rana’s immigration company, First World Immigration Services, as a cover for his numerous scouting missions to the city.
In testimony during Rana’s trial, Headley acknowledged Rana knew about the Mumbai plot and supported it. Headley also corroborated other evidence presented at trial that Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the ISI, was involved in the attacks.
Prosecutors claimed Rana also assisted Headley in plotting an attack on the offices of the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten. The newspaper’s 2005 publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad had led to violent protests across the Muslim world.”
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2013/david-colemen-headley-sentenced-to-35-years-in-prison-for-role-in-india-and-denmark-terror-plots
David Colemen Headley Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Role in India and Denmark Terror Plots
U.S. Department of Justice
January 24, 2013
Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON—David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen partly of Pakistani descent, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for a dozen federal terrorism crimes relating to his role in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and a subsequent proposed attack on a newspaper in Denmark. Headley pleaded guilty in March 2010 to all 12 counts that were brought against him following his arrest in October 2009 as he was about to leave the country. Immediately after his arrest, Headley began cooperating with authorities.
Headley, 52, was ordered to serve 35 years, followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. There is no federal parole and defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. “Mr. Headley is a terrorist,” Judge Leinenweber said in imposing the sentence.
“There is little question that life imprisonment would be an appropriate punishment for Headley’s incredibly serious crimes but for the significant value provided by his immediate and extensive cooperation,” the government argued in seeking a sentence of 30 to 35 years.
In pleading guilty and later testifying for the government at the trial of a co-defendant, Headley admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in that country, on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from three members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks in 2008 that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans, and wounded hundreds more. Headley’s plea agreement in March 2010 stated that he “has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation and also has provided information of significant intelligence value.”
In consideration of Headley’s past cooperation and anticipated future cooperation, which would include debriefings for the purpose of gathering intelligence and national security information, as well as testifying in any foreign judicial proceedings held in the United States by way of deposition, video-conferencing or letters rogatory, the Attorney General of the United States authorized the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago not to seek the death penalty.
“Today’s sentence is an important milestone in our continuing efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks and to achieve justice for the victims. Our investigations into Mumbai attacks and the Denmark terror plot are ongoing and active. I thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors responsible for this investigation and prosecution,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
Headley was convicted of conspiracy to bomb public places in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India; six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.
According to Headley’s guilty plea and testimony, he attended the following training camps operated by Lashkar: a three-week course starting in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad; a three-week course starting in August 2002 that provided training in the use of weapons and grenades; a three-month course starting in April 2003 that taught close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades and survival skills; a three-week course starting in August 2003 that taught counter-surveillance skills; and a three-month course starting in December 2003 that provided combat and tactical training.
Mumbai Terror Attacks
After receiving instructions in late 2005 to conduct surveillance in India, Headley changed his given name from Daood Gilani in February 2006 in Philadelphia to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.
Headley eventually made five extended trips to Mumbai—in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008—each time making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance. After each trip, Headley traveled to Pakistan to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance videos.
Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Headley and co-conspirators in Pakistan discussed potential landing sites in Mumbai for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea. Headley returned to Mumbai with a global positioning system device and took boat trips around the Mumbai harbor and entered various locations into the device.
Between November 26 and 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 had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims and wounding hundreds more.
The six Americans killed during the siege were Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr, and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.
In March 2009, Headley made a sixth trip to India to conduct additional surveillance, including of the National Defense College in Delhi, and of Chabad Houses in several cities.
Denmark Terror Plot
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley admitted and testified that in early November 2008, he was instructed by a Lashkar member in Pakistan, to conduct surveillance of the Copenhagen and Aarhus offices of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten in preparation for an attack in retaliation for the newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. After this meeting, Headley informed co-defendant Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), also known as “Pasha,” of his assignment. Abdur Rehman told Headley words to the effect that if Lashkar did not go through with the attack, Abdur Rehman knew someone who would. Although not identified by name at the time, Headley later learned this individual was co-defendant Ilyas Kashmiri. Abdur Rehman previously told Headley that he was working with Kashmiri and that Kashmiri was in direct contact with a senior leader of al Qaeda.
While in Chicago in late December 2008 and early January 2009, Headley exchanged e-mails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. In January 2009, at Lashkar’s direction, Headley traveled from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and scouted and videotaped the surrounding areas.
In late January 2009, Headley met separately with Abdur Rehman and a Lashkar member in Pakistan, discussed the planned attack on the newspaper, and provided them with videos of his surveillance. About the same time, Abdur Rehman provided Headley a video produced by the media wing of al Qaeda in approximately August 2008, which claimed credit for the June 2008 attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the offending cartoons.
In February 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman met with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, where they discussed the video surveillance and ways to carry out the attack. Kashmiri told Headley that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar’s participation was not necessary. In March 2009, a Lashkar member advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure resulting from the Mumbai attacks. In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman again met with Kashmiri in Waziristan.
Kashmiri told Headley to meet with a European contact who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the Denmark attack and relate Kashmiri’s instructions that this should be a suicide attack and the attackers should prepare martyrdom videos beforehand. Kashmiri also stated that the attackers should behead captives and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen to heighten the response from Danish authorities, and added that the “elders,” whom Headley understood to be al Qaeda leadership, wanted the attack to happen as soon as possible.
In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe and met with and attempted to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts and, while in Copenhagen, he made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos. When he returned to the United States on August 5, 2009, Headley falsely told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector in Atlanta that he had visited Europe for business reasons. On October 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri.
One of Headley’s co-defendants, Tahawwur Rana, 52, of Chicago, was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to the Denmark terror plot and providing material support to Lashkar. Headley testified for the government at Rana’s trial in June 2011.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Sarah E. Streicker, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have worked on a broader investigation of the Mumbai attacks. The investigation was conducted by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Chicago Office of the FBI, with assistance from FBI offices in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., as well as both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3895/mumbai-plotter-sentenced-to-35-years
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Mumbai Plotter Sentenced to 35 Years”
by Abha Shankar • Jan 24, 2013 at 1:23 pm
SNIPPET: “Prosecutors say his subsequent cooperation with them was significant, including lengthy debriefings with Indian law enforcement officials, and asked for a sentence between 30 and 35 years for the 52-year-old Headley.
“In addition to providing an insight into the personnel, structure, methods, abilities and plans of Lashkar, Headley took active steps to further the investigation into other terrorists. Headley’s cooperation assisted the government in filing criminal charges against at least seven other individuals, and his testimony helped to secure the conviction of one co-defendant,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo filed earlier this week.
Headley’s co-conspirator, Tahawwur Rana, was sentenced to 14 years last week for his role in the Danish terror plot and for aiding Lashkar. Headley was a prosecution witness in Rana’s trial.
In his testimony, Headley detailed trainings he received at Lashkar camps in Pakistan. He also described his recruitment, training, and handling by former Pakistani army officers and members of the country’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). Evidence presented in court also showed Headley not only worked at the behest of LeT but also with members of al-Qaida.
The U.S. investigation into the Mumbai attacks “are ongoing and active,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco.
Six other co-defendants charged in the case are believed to be in Pakistan.”
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