'Terror groups may help Rana flee US'

Indicted for conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistani Canadian citizen Tahawwaur Rana might get financial assistance from 'dangerous terrorist organisations' to flee the country if released on bond, federal prosecutors seeking his detention have argued.

With Rana being named as a conspirator, he also faces a harsher jail sentence of life imprisonment in the new charge-sheet filed against him, they said. In a 33-page government response to the motion filed by Rana, seeking revocation of his detention order, prosecutors have said his 'casual speculation' that it would be easy to extradite him if he fled United States and was ever caught again "should be more unsettling than reassuring to the court, considering his ties to terrorist organisations".

The response was filed by prosecutors Daniel Collins and Victoria Peters on January 15, a day after Rana and co-accused David Headley were indicted by a grand jury on 12 counts of being involved in conspiracy to target Mumbai and Denmark. It said in light of the superseding indictment returned against Rana, he now faces additional charges which are "actually much more serious than those he originally faced".

Rana was denied bail by Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan who said if released on bond, he could flee the country to escape a possible 30-year prison term. However, now charged with supporting the conspiracies to commit murder and to bomb places of public use in India, "the maximum term of imprisonment now faced by Rana is life, giving him heightened incentive" to flee the country.

Rana is also arguing that because Headley is now in custody, "there is virtually no risk that defendant's (Rana's) alleged conduct could be repeated". To this the prosecutors contend that Rana was not just in contact with Headley but was also in direct contact with Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Pasha), who has been charged in the superseding indictment, but has not yet been arrested by US authorities.

"Pasha was defendants' link to Ilyas Kashmiri, one of Pakistan's most wanted terrorists and a direct link to the Al Qaeda," the government's response said. Rana also was in direct contact with the individual identified as 'Person A' in the superseding indictment, who is an uncharged member of the conspiracy to carry out the Mumbai attacks.

"The fact that, if Rana fled, he not only could receive financial and other assistance from such international contacts, but also the fact those contacts are members of dangerous terrorist organisations, strongly supports detaining the defendant," the prosecutors said. Rana, who is expected to be arraigned on January 21, argues that Nolan was unduly concerned with his Pakistani background.

But prosecutors say the Judge was "properly concerned with his ties to a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan".

In a motion filed in a Chicago court on December 30, seeking revocation of his detention order, Rana had said through his lawyer Patrick Blegen that since he is a Pakistani army deserter and "does not have the financial resources to fund an international game of hide and seek", he will not flee the country if released on bond.
 
Rana's motion also stated that US can use its extradition treaty with Pakistan and Canada to bring him back to America if he were to escape to those countries. Rana is expected to be arraigned in a court here on January 21 before Judge Harry Leinenweber.