The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian national of Pakistani origin, to India, rejecting his final legal challenge. Rana is wanted in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which killed 166 people, including six Americans.
On January 21, the Supreme Court dismissed Rana’s petition for a writ of certiorari, his last legal avenue to avoid extradition. Earlier, he had lost cases in various federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The U.S. government had opposed Rana’s petition, with Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar arguing that he was not entitled to relief from extradition.
India’s case against Rana alleges his involvement in the attacks and additional charges such as forgery. Prelogar noted that some of India’s charges, including his use of false information to open a branch office of the Immigration Law Center in India, were not addressed in Rana’s earlier U.S. trial. Rana had previously been tried and acquitted in Chicago on charges related to the Mumbai attacks but argued that India’s extradition request was based on identical conduct. However, the U.S. government contended that the charges were distinct and warranted further prosecution.
Rana, currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, is associated with David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist and one of the primary conspirators in the 26/11 attacks. The attacks involved 10 Pakistani terrorists who unleashed a 60-hour siege across Mumbai’s iconic landmarks, targeting hotels, a Jewish center, and a railway station.
With the Supreme Court’s denial, Rana is now set to face justice in India, marking a significant step in holding accountable those responsible for one of the deadliest terror attacks in Indian history.
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