Washington: In a major setback to Pakistan-origin businessman Tahawwur Rana, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that he is extraditable to India, where he is sought for his involvement in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008, under the India-US Extradition Treaty. The court's ruling was in line with US attorney Bram Alden's remarks last month, who said Rana was extraditable under the non-bis provision of the treaty.
Ruling on an appeal filed by Rana, a panel of judges of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court in the Central District of California’s denial of his habeas corpus petition challenging a magistrate judge’s certification of his as extraditable to India for his alleged participation in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The panel held that Rana's alleged offence fell within the terms of the extradition treaty between India and the US.
The non-bis provision in Idem (double jeopardy) exception to extraditability applies when "the person sought has been convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the offence for which extradition is requested”. The panel ruled that based on the plain text of the treaty, the State Department's technical analysis and the persuasive case law of other circuits, the word "offence" refers to a charged crime, rather than underlying acts, and requires an analysis of the elements of each crime.
Rana's legal options after verdict
A co-conspirator’s plea agreement did not compel a different result and the non-bis provision did not apply because the Indian charges contained distinct elements from the crimes for which Rana was acquitted in the United States, said the court. It also said India provided sufficient competent evidence to support the magistrate judge’s finding of probable cause that Rana committed the charged crimes.
Rana argued that the US extradition treaty with India protected him from extradition because of its Non-Bis in Idem (double jeopardy) provision. In his appeal, he argued that he cannot be extradited based on conduct for which he was acquitted in the United States because the word “offence” refers to underlying acts.
However, the US government argued that “offence” refers to a charged crime and requires an analysis of the elements of each charged crime. Hence, the Treaty permits Rana’s extradition because the Indian charges contain distinct elements from the crimes for which he was acquitted in the United States. Rana has the option of appealing against this ruling and still has legal options available to prevent his extradition to India.
Tahawwur Rana's extradition process
Rana faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. In response to an extradition request from India in 2020, Rana was detained in the US for his involvement in the attacks, in which 10 Pakistani terrorists besieged Mumbai for more than 60 hours, killing more than 160 people, including six Americans.
He was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in 2005. However, he was cleared of the more serious charge of helping plot the attack. He was sentenced to 14 years in jail in 2013 and was released in 2020 on compassionate grounds.
After Rana served seven years in prison for those convictions and upon his compassionate release, India issued a request for his extradition to try him for his alleged participation in the Mumbai attacks, leading to his re-arrest. A US court in May had approved the extradition of Rana to India, but the businessman filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the court order. A court stayed his extradition to India last year and asked him to file a response.
(with PTI inputs)
