The US Supreme Court has rejected the plea of the 26/11 Mumbai attack accused, Tahawwur Rana, seeking a stay on his extradition to India. Justice Elena Kagan, on March 6 (local time), denied Rana’s application, requesting a stay in his extradition to India.
Tahawwur Rana had approached the United States Supreme Court seeking an emergency stay on his extradition to India. In his application, Rana argued that he would not survive long enough to be tried in India due to various reasons.
Rana, through an appeal, stated, “If a stay is not entered, there will be no review at all, and the US courts will lose jurisdiction, and the petitioner will soon be dead.”
The accused in the 26/11 terror attacks claimed that if extradited to India, the likelihood is very high that he will be subjected to torture as he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin.
He stated that because of his Muslim religion, his Pakistani origin, his status as a former member of the Pakistani Army, the relation of the putative charges to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and his chronic health conditions, he is even more likely to be tortured than otherwise would be the case, and that torture is very likely to kill him in short order.
He cited the Human Rights Watch 2023 World Report, which documents the BJP-led government’s systematic discrimination and stigmatisation of religious minorities, particularly Muslims. Rana further argued that the Government in India is increasingly autocratic, and there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of torture if he surrendered to Indian authorities.
In addition to these concerns, Rana highlighted his deteriorating health. He suffers from a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm at immediate risk of rupture, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, and a mass suggestive of bladder cancer. He asserts that he cannot be sent into a “hornet’s nest” where he will be targeted due to national, religious, and cultural animosity.
Earlier in February, US President Donald Trump announced the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India and said he would face justice. He made the announcement during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi following their bilateral meeting.
Tahawwur Rana is a known associate of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the November 26 attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
A Pakistani-origin businessman, physician, and immigration entrepreneur, Rana has alleged connections with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Rana’s alleged role in facilitating the attacks has remained a point of contention between India and the United States for years.
(With inputs from ANI)
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