The US Supreme Court has rejected a plea by Tahawwur Rana, a suspect in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, to stop his extradition to India for trial.
Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian citizen, had filed an "Emergency Application For Stay" before the Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court and the Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit.
In his plea, he argued that his extradition would go against US law and the United Nations Convention Against Torture, on the grounds that "there are substantial grounds for believing that, if extradited to India, petitioner will be in danger of being subjected to torture."
"The chances of torture here are even greater however since petitioner is under acute danger as a Muslim of Pakistani descent charged in the Mumbai attacks," the application stated.
The plea also pointed to his poor health, saying his extradition to India would essentially be a "de facto" death sentence because there is no proper medical care in Indian holding centers.
Medical reports of July 2024, which were attached with his petition, showed that Rana has multiple life-threatening and serious ailments, such as multiple heart attacks, Parkinson's disease with cognitive impairment, a mass suspected to be bladder cancer, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, chronic asthma, and history of multiple Covid-19 infections.
His extradition was finalized last month by former US President Donald Trump. In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump made the confirmation, stating, "We are sending a very violent man back to India immediately. There is more to follow because we have quite a few requests. We work with India on crime, and we want to make things better for India."
Rana is in India on wanted list for being involved in the support for 2008 Mumbai terror strikes carried out by the Pakistan-based militant group LeT. On 26th November 2008, eight sites in Mumbai were attacked with at least 174 people being killed.
Rana, aged 64, is charged in India with aiding logistical support to LeT. He had earlier been found guilty in the US for helping the group and India has continued to seek his extradition. His reported connections to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the prime conspirators in the 26/11 attacks, also highlight his connection to the case.
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