US court hands Mumbai attacks plotter 35 year jail term

US citizen David Coleman Headley was convicted of plotting Mumbai 2008 attacks, and attacks on a Danish newspaper.

WASHINGTON: The man with one blue eye and one green eye, David Headley, the self-confessed Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who helped plan the Mumbai 2008 attacks, was sentenced to 35 years in jail on Thursday by a Chicago judge.

Judge Harry D Leinenweber of the US District Court sentenced Headley to 35 years in jail followed by five years supervised release. The sentence was awarded after the prosecution asked for the sentencing as opposed to life imprisonment as Headley had confessed and turned witness for the prosecution.

He had been accused of conspiring and plotting the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, the plot to attack the offices of a Danish newspaper and providing material support to the LeT.

According to a statement issued by the prosecution, Headley pleaded guilty to all 12 counts against him in March 2010. He had been cooperating with authorities after his arrest.

At the sentencing, a victim of the Mumbai 26/11 attacks also addressed the court.

Last week another US court had convicted and sentenced Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani expatriate, to 14 years in jail for providing material support to the LeT. He is a friend of Headley's.

US govt.’s position

According to the US government’s position paper made available to the media ahead of the sentencing, the government said that information provided by Headley had helped the US government and its allies in combating terrorism.

“In addition to providing 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.” The paper said that Headley had also cooperated with Indian law enforcement, and they expect his cooperation to continue in the future.

“The government submits that imposing a sentence of 30 to 35 years’ imprisonment strikes a fair and just balance between the despicable nature of his crimes and the significant value of his cooperation.”

52-year-old David Headley was arrested in 2009 in Chicago. In his testimony during the trial of his friend Tahawwur Rana in 2011, Headley said that he had been trained by members of the ISI when he was part of LeT, and that his handlers were former ISI operatives.