The United States has ruled out any extradition of the American-born Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) suspected terrorist David Headley, in lieu of providing critical information to the US agencies about various other terror outfits.
The Mumbai attack accused also agreed to cooperate with the government, as well as any foreign judicial proceedings held inside the US through videoconferencing or deposition, Attorney Gary S Shapiro informed a Chicago court.
The attorney ruled out any extradition for the 26/11 accused under a guilty plea that the American had entered into with the US government and in lieu of the co-operation he extended to the government and the crucial information about various terrorist outfits that he shared with the American investigating agencies.
“As the court knows, Headley’s testimony helped secure a conviction against (Tahawwur) Rana. Further, Headley has agreed to provide truthful testimony in any proceeding in the United States if called upon by the United States Attorney’s Office, as well as any foreign judicial proceeding held in the United States by way of deposition, videoconferencing or letters rogatory,” Acting United States Attorney Gary S Shapiro told the Chicago Court in a 20-page submission made on Wednesday.
In addition to meeting with investigators from the United States, Headley was interviewed by Indian law enforcers for seven days, Shapiro said. “Headley answered their questions without any restriction, and the government understands that the Indian government found the information to be useful. Additionally, Headley has taken other steps and provided other information to assist authorities,” he said.
Shapiro said Headley volunteered to co-operate with the investigating agencies and provide them with the information a day after his arrest in October 2009. “After being specifically advised that, based on the information that he was providing, he likely would face charges that carried the death penalty in the US, Headley continued to speak with investigators for two weeks before his arrest became public. Further, Headley has been interviewed in dozens of proffer sessions,” he said.
Headley has provided extensive detail about Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, including its organisational structure, leadership and other personnel, recruiting, fundraising, training methods, planning of attacks and potential targets. He also provided extensive detail about Ilyas Kashmiri and his network.
