Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, a LeT operative arrested by FBI has pleaded not guilty before a US court to all the charges filed against him including that he conspired in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
49-year-old Headley, arrested in October this year, also pleaded not guilty to the charge of plotting terror attacks in Denmark against a newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. The next hearing of the case will be held on January 12.
He was charged by the FBI on Monday in a 12-count criminal information with six counts of conspiracy to bomb places in India and Denmark and for providing material support to terrorist plots.
Talking to reporters after the arraignment, Headley's attorney John Theis said, "David Headley is charged with certain acts arising out of things that happened in Denmark and India. These are very serious charges and we are taking them very seriously. I want to remind everyone that he is presumed innocent of these charges against him," he said.
On whether Indian authorities could get a chance to interrogate Headley, Theis said, "That is something we will have to look at. I have no idea of assessing the chances. If they make any such requests, we will look at it when it comes," he said adding that as of now no requests have been made to him regarding interrogation or extradition.
He was also charged for providing material support to Lashkar, and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India. If convicted, Headley could face the "maximum statutory penalty" of life imprisonment or death.
Appearing before US District Judge Harry Leinenweber for his arraignment at the court here, a clean-shaven and tall Headley wore an orange jumpsuit with white long-sleeved undershirt and blue sneakers.
He was shackled at the ankles. The arraignment hearing lasted for about five minutes during which Headley responded in a quiet voice to the questions posed by the Judge.
Headley had made five trips to Mumbai from 2006 to 2008, taking pictures and making videotapes of targets, including those attacked. After every trip that Headley took to India between September 2006 and July 2008, he allegedly returned to Pakistan, met with other co-conspirators and provided them with photographs, videos and oral descriptions of various locations.
The charges also allege that in March 2008, Headley and his co-conspirators discussed potential landing sites for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea in Mumbai, and he was instructed to take boat trips in and around the Mumbai harbor and take surveillance video, which he did during his visit to India starting in April 2008, the charges allege.
The terror case spanning three countries has caught the attention of the media and public alike. Apart from city-based TV channels and newspapers, reporters from across the US were present to cover Headley's first appearance in court.
Headley was escorted into the courtroom by federal marshalls. He appeared calm but his face looked thinner as compared to his plump image, extracted from copies of his passport, the world has seen.
Headley also waived his right to be indicted by a grand jury, which means he waived his right to have prosecutors present their evidence against him to a grand jury and obtain an indictment. Leinenweber scheduled Headley's next status hearing for January 12.
Theis said over the next several weeks and months he and his co-counsel Robert Seeder would review evidence and allegations against Headley.
"I expect that there will be a lot of material that we will be going through in preparing our defence in this case," he added. Theis further said he would not comment on the substance of any of the allegations or any particular defence strategy that they would employ in this case. PTI
