David Coleman Headley has cut a deal with prosecutors that ensures he will not be extradited to India to face prosecution in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks, but his attorney says Headley will make himself available to Indian interrogators as long as they travel to the US.

In an exclusive phone interview with The Tribune on Thursday, soon after Headley pleaded guilty to scouting for targets in Mumbai, attorney John Theis said his client has “agreed to cooperate with foreign governments, including India”.

According to the lengthy plea agreement filed in a Chicago court, Headley "shall not be extradited to the Republic of India, the Kingdom of Denmark or the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" as long as he pleads guilty to and is convicted of all offences laid out in the indictment. Theis said Headley would "make himself available to Indian officials... but only in the US. He will not travel to India as per the plea agreement."

In pleading guilty to all 12 counts that were brought against him in December and were repeated in a subsequent indictment in January, Headley admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by Lashkar-e-Toiba five times between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, he received instructions from three members of LeT to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks that killed 164 people and wounded hundreds more. Under the plea agreement, Headley must fully disclose all material facts concerning his role with respect to these offenses.

The plea deal also eliminates the possibility of the death penalty for Headley, a Pakistani American who in February 2006 changed his name from Daoud Gilani to avoid raising suspicions while travelling in India.

"Dropping the death penalty and (Headley's) cooperation go hand in hand," Theis said, adding that lawyers had been negotiating this deal for "a fairly lengthy period of time." Headley had been cooperating with investigators since his arrest on October 3, 2009, through what is known as a "proffer agreement." This is a written agreement between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation which permits these individuals to give the government information about crimes with some assurances that they will be protected against prosecution.

Headley pleaded guilty to 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 LeT.

According to the plea agreement, Headley attended the following training camps operated by Lashkar: A three-week course starting in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad; a three-week course starting in August 2002 that provided training in the use of weapons and grenades; a three-month course starting in April 2003 that taught close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades and survival skills; a three-week course starting in August 2003 that taught counter-surveillance skills; and a three-month course starting in December 2003 that provided combat and tactical training.

US Attorney-General Eric Holder described the guilty plea as “a crucial step forward in our efforts to achieve justice for the more than 160 people who lost their lives” in the Mumbai attacks.

"Working with our domestic and international partners, we will not rest until all those responsible for the Mumbai attacks and the terror plot in Denmark are held accountable,” he pledged, adding, “Not only has the criminal justice system achieved a guilty plea in this case, but David Headley is now providing us valuable intelligence about terrorist activities”.

According to the plea agreement, Headley "has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation, and also has provided information of significant intelligence value." Bruce Riedel at the Brookings Institution said Headley could prove to be an invaluable source of information. "Given his many years of service in LeT, his role in the Mumbai attack, knowledge of other plots and contacts with Al-Qaida, Headley could be a intelligence goldmine for the US and India if he cooperates," Riedel told The Tribune.

Dhaka, March 19
Bangladesh's former military ruler HM Ershad has been dragged to court by his ex-wife for alleged "torture" and has sought Taka 60 crore in damages.

The 38-year old Bidisha Siddique filed Taka 60 crore defamation suit against this octogenarian ex-army general with First Joint District Judge's Court of Dhaka yesterday.

Ershad, whose Jatiya Party is a crucial ally of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led grand alliance, had ruled the country after a bloodless military coup in 1982.

Siddiqui alleged she was tortured by Ershad and suffered harassment in police custody in connection with "false cases" filed by him between 2005 and 2007 while the judge ordered the former president's appearance in his court by April 20 to reply.

Siddiqui said that she was arrested on June 4 in 2005 from her Baridhara residence after Ershad charged her with stealing a cellphone set and embezzled around Taka 7.5 lakh.

According to the case papers, she was given electric shocks, her nails were uprooted and she was beaten while being hung from the ceiling fan while in police custody Subsequently, she was released from all the cases.

His marital life with Siddique ended in 2005 and it was believed to have a political link. — PTI

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