Posted on 03/17/2010 3:52:21 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
WASHINGTON: Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley aka Daood Gilani, accused of scouting targets that led to the Mumbai terrorist attack of 26/11, will plead guilty to charges, in what is seen by Indian officials as a deal with the US authorities which may help him dodge death sentence in exchange for information on fellow Lashkar terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
Headley, 49, an LeT operative who had pleaded not guilty to the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on January 14, has moved for a "change of plea" hearing on Thursday before US district judge Harry Leinenweber, the court said in a one-paragraph filing.
It was not clear if Gilani, who changed his name to David Headley to facilitate entry to India, will plead guilty on all 12 counts. Six counts charge him with conspiracy to murder and maim, and another to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. They carry a maximum sentence of death penalty.
Authorities in New Delhi were keeping their fingers crossed over the development. To many in India, Headley's volte-face seemed to confirm the estimate that he was a double agent who turned rogue after being brainwashed by the jihadis he was asked to infiltrate. The history of deals Gilani cut with US authorities in the past, when the sentence he was serving for drug pedalling was reduced after he squealed on fellow traffickers, reinforced the suspicion.
A lighter sentence for him would validate the "double agent" assumption, besides possibly putting Headley out of reach of Indian agencies forever.
US law forbids access to convicts without their consent, while those released as part of plea bargain are also helped to disguise their real identity to protect them against any retaliation.
A senior source, however, played down the fear of Headley being allowed to get away this time, reasoning that the jihadi was trying to escape a death sentence by offering to provide information on Rana, his fellow accused. While Rana, who is from Chichawatni in Pakistan — a known Lashkar stronghold — is supposed to be deeply enmeshed into the web of jihadi terror, FBI so far does not have enough evidence on him. A testimony from Headley against his fellow accused who has refused to plead guilty can help CBI fill in crucial blanks.
"This (change of plea) is result of discussions with the government," his lawyer John Theis told reporters.
Concerned over reports that Mumbai terror suspect David Headley may enter into a plea bargain with prosecutors in Chicago, the Indian security establishment feels that it would lend credence to suspicions that he may have been working for the Americans before.
Indian officials, who have been watching the progress in the case at Chicago in US, are worried about reports emanating from the US that Pakistani-American Headley would be pleading guilty in an attempt to get a lighter sentence.
Headley, who has been “charged with hatching conspiracy in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has sought a plea bargain under American laws,” a senior government official said.
The laws there provide for agreement between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation, which permit them to give the government information about crimes with some assurances that they will be protected against prosecution.
The official said any lenient sentence now will “confirm” that Headley, who was arrested on October three last for his links with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, was an American agent.
“A lenient sentence is a matter of concern for India and may give credence to the suspicion that he was an American agent,” the official said, adding, “if the sentence was something like 100 years, then there was no problem.”
India has been trying to get access to 49-year-old Headley, who has been charged with conducting recce of installations attacked by the Lashkar terrorists on 26/11 in Mumbai.
Headley had earlier pleaded not guilty to the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on January 14 but now moved for a “change of plea” which will be heard by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber on Thursday.
The American terror suspect had got away with a lesser sentence after he was arrested in 1998 for smuggling heroin into the US from Pakistan as he cooperated with the investigation in the case.
He was sentenced to less than two years in prison and thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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