A federal court has given Tahawwur Rana more time to file his request against extradition to India, where he will stand trial for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
In August, Rana had appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court the order of a U.S. District Court in the Central District of California denying the writ of habeas corpus.
On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court granted his request for more time to file his motion, which was initially set for Oct. 10.
According to the latest court order, Rana’s letter is now due on November 9 and the government’s response on December 11, 2023.
Earlier, on August 18, the court had granted Rana’s request for a stay of extradition so that his appeal could be heard by the US Court of Appeals.
Rana faces multiple charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to have links to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
In response to his request, Judge Fischer of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asked Rana to file his argument by October 10 and the US government was asked to file its response by November 8.
Judge Fischer wrote that Rana has demonstrated that without a stay, he is likely to suffer significant, irreparable harm.
He will be extradited to India for trial for serious crimes with no hope of a review of his arguments or hope of his return to the United States. The government admits this, but then argues that because this alleged irreparable harm categorically applies to any fugitive who requests a stay of extradition pending the appeal, it does not count, the judge had said.
Earlier, U.S. Attorney John J. Lulejian had filed an appeal in the district court to dismiss Rana’s exparte application for a stay of extradition pending the appeal, arguing that the stay would cause an unjustified delay in the performance of his obligations to India by the United States and that this would damage its credibility. in the international arena and impair its ability to obtain the cooperation of foreign nations in bringing American fugitives to justice.
Rana, he argued, cannot demonstrate a likelihood of success based on the merits of his claims, nor can he otherwise meet his burden to justify a stay. Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that the court deny its ex parte request, the U.S. attorney wrote.
Lulejian argued that the court should deny Rana’s request for a stay on the threshold ground that he has failed to demonstrate that he is likely to obtain a reversal of this court’s decision in the Ninth Circuit.
In his ex parte application for a stay, Rana has not in any way demonstrated, let alone strongly demonstrated, that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his appeal, he argued. He simply states that he is requesting a delay so that his non-bis in idem argument can be heard by the appeals court.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing Rana’s role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group. The NIA has said it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.
A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which ten Pakistani terrorists carried out a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at iconic and vital locations of Mumbai.
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