Washington: A federal court in Los Angeles has set a date for the personal extradition of Pakistani-born Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana. He is wanted in India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks (26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks). At the request of the Indian government, the extradition hearing will be held in Los Angeles by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chuljian.
Court records show that the US government has submitted sealed Indian documents before the court twice this week. A document was handed over on Wednesday. The contents of the documents are sealed upon request. The extradition hearing will take place at 1:30 a.m. local time and 2 p.m. international time on Friday, June 25.
The US District Court, the clerk of the courtroom for the Central District of California, explained the list of hearings scheduled for Thursday, which also includes US Government v. Tahawwur Rana (personal custody). The US has declared in support of the “US response in favor of the request for certification of extradition” in several representations before the court.
Rana is wanted in India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Rana is a childhood friend of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Coleman Headley. Rana was re-arrested on June 10, 2020, in Los Angeles on charges of involvement in the Mumbai terror attack at the request of India. 166 people, including six American citizens, were killed in the Mumbai attack. India has declared him a fugitive. Headley, a 60-year-old US national of Pakistani origin, was involved in plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He had turned out to be a witness in the case and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his role in the attack. The US says that the extradition of 59-year-old Rana to India is in line with the extradition treaty signed between India and the US.
As per the Indo-US Extradition Treaty, the Indian government has requested Rana’s formal extradition and the US has started the process of extradition. The US government has argued that Rana meets all the criteria for extradition to India. The US said that it requests certification to extradite Rana to India and that the extradition request has sufficient evidence to establish probable cause and that Rana has not provided any evidence to deny India’s request.
