US Supreme Court rejects request to block 26/11 Mumbai attack suspect Tahawwur Rana’s extradition to India
Washington, DC: Tahawwur Rana, the accused of the 26/11 Mumbai assault, attempted to have his extradition to India stayed, but the US Supreme Court denied his request. Rana’s motion for a stay of his extradition to India was refused by Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday (local time).
Tahawwur Rana has petitioned for an urgent halt to his extradition to India before the US Supreme Court. Rana claimed in his application that he would not live long enough to face trial in India for a number of reasons.
Rana, in an appeal, said, “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.”
Because he is a Muslim of Pakistani descent, the accused in the 26/11 terror attacks said that there is a very high chance that he would be tortured if extradited to India.
He claimed that he is even more likely to be tortured than he would otherwise be due to his Muslim faith, Pakistani ancestry, his status as a former member of the Pakistani Army, the connection between the alleged charges and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and his ongoing medical issues. He also claimed that torture is likely to result in his death very quickly.
He referenced the Human Rights Watch 2023 World Report, which details the systemic stigmatization and persecution of religious minorities, especially Muslims, by the BJP-led government. Rana went on to say that the Indian government is becoming more and more despotic and that there are good reasons to think that if he turned himself in to Indian authorities, he would be tortured.
Rana emphasized his declining health in addition to these worries. He has a tumor that may be bladder cancer, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive deterioration, and a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm that is immediately in danger of rupturing. He claims he cannot be placed in a “hornet’s nest” because he would be singled out because of cultural, religious, and national hostility.
US President Donald Trump said earlier in February that Tahawwur Rana will be extradited to India and that he would be held accountable. After their bilateral meeting, he made the news at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tahawwur Rana is a well-known acquaintance of David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist who was a key conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai bombings on November 26.
Rana, a physician, immigration entrepreneur, and businessman of Pakistani descent, is suspected of having ties to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). For years, the United States and India have been at odds over Rana’s suspected involvement in enabling the assaults.
