Mumbai attacks: US court hands down 35-year jail term to David Headley
Prosecution asks for sentencing, not life imprisonment, as he had confessed.
In this courtroom drawing, David Coleman Headley faces US District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber on March 18, 2010 in Chicago. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
WASHINGTON:
The man with one blue eye and one green eye, David Headley, a confessed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, was sentenced to 35 years in jail on Thursday by a Chicago judge.
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 LeT, a terrorist organisation.
Judge Harry D Leinenweber of the US District Court sentenced Headley to 35 years after the prosecution asked for the sentencing as opposed to life imprisonment as Headley had confessed and turned witness for the prosecution. According to a statement issued by the prosecution, Headley pleaded guilty to all 12 counts against him in March 2010 and had been cooperating with authorities after his arrest.
Judge Leinenweber, when announcing the sentence, called Headley a terrorist. Headley, born Daood Gilani, is a US citizen of part-Pakistan descent. His sentencing comprises 35 years in jail, followed by five years of supervised release.
According to the prosecution, Headley had been convicted of “conspiracy to bomb public places in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India; six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.
The man with one blue eye and one green eye, David Headley, a confessed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, was sentenced to 35 years in jail on Thursday by a Chicago judge.
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 LeT, a terrorist organisation.
Judge Harry D Leinenweber of the US District Court sentenced Headley to 35 years after the prosecution asked for the sentencing as opposed to life imprisonment as Headley had confessed and turned witness for the prosecution. According to a statement issued by the prosecution, Headley pleaded guilty to all 12 counts against him in March 2010 and had been cooperating with authorities after his arrest.
Judge Leinenweber, when announcing the sentence, called Headley a terrorist. Headley, born Daood Gilani, is a US citizen of part-Pakistan descent. His sentencing comprises 35 years in jail, followed by five years of supervised release.
According to the prosecution, Headley had been convicted of “conspiracy to bomb public places in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India; six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.