American David Headley alias Daood Gilani (FBI Agent?) to reveal truths of killing 168 people in Mumbai, 26/11 with LET

David Headley Pardoned By Mumbai Court, Made Approver In 26/11 Case

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mumbai-court-pardons-David-Headley-makes-him-an-approver-in-26/11-case/articleshow/50125617.cms

Cheat Sheet | Reported by Saurabh Gupta, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Updated: December 10, 2015 22:25 IST

PTI

Fire-brigade try to douse the fire at the Taj Hotel after completion of combing operation during the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai. File photo: PTI

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/david-headley-offers-to-turn-approver-in-2611-case/article7971715.ece

The Pakistan-born American national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, David Coleman Headley, will depose as a prosecution witness before a special court here on February 8 after the court granted him conditional pardon on Thursday and accepted his proposal to turn approver in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attack case.

Dressed in a black T-shirt, the former FBI agent, already sentenced to 35 years in prison by a U.S. court for his role in the attack, was produced before the Sessions Court here via video link on Thursday.

His U.S. attorneys refused to divulge his location to the court, citing confidentiality.

Special Judge G.A. Sanap is presiding over the trial of Indian national and alleged LeT handler Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal for his alleged role in the military-style terror strike

The prosecution had moved an application to make Headley a co-accused. Headley accepted the conditions laid down by the court.

The court had told Headley that he “disclose full and true facts leading to the happening of the attacks within his knowledge and the persons concerned, disclose his role and the role of others, disclose facts which he has admitted before the U.S. court in Illinois and truthfully and correctly answer the prosecution’s questions unfolding the entire criminal conspiracy and other offences.”

When asked, he denied being under pressure and said: “I am obliged to testify because of the conditions of my plea agreement.”

The court decided to grant him pardon as it felt his evidence as co-conspirator was “of immense importance and assistance to the prosecution.” His role was “categorically established” from the U.S. court’s judgment, records and plea agreement. Headley’s deposition would be the first piece of direct evidence of the criminal conspiracy.

David Headley is currently serving 35 years in an American prison after being convicted of being involved in the planning and execution of 26/11 terror attack. (File Photo)

MUMBAI:  A Mumbai court has pardoned terrorist David Headley, who has turned approver, or a prosecution witness, in the 26/11 case. The court laid several conditions before Headley, accused of conspiracy in the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai. The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, who testified via video-conferencing from an undisclosed location in the US, has accepted. He will appear before the court next on February 8.

Here are the latest developments:

1. The court said David Headley should disclose the "full and true facts" leading to 26/11 attacks; he should also reveal the role he and others played in the attacks.
2. Headley should disclose the facts he has already admitted before the court in Illinois and reveal if any of the attackers were involved in other attacks in India, the court also said.
3. Accepting his role in the attacks, Headley, who is serving a 35-year jail term in the US for the 26/11 attacks, said, "I pleaded guilty in the past to the charges in the US and I admitted I was a participant in these charges... I appear here ready to answer questions regarding these events, if I receive a pardon from this court."
4. In December 2011, the National Investigation Agency had filed a charge-sheet accusing Headley, his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana, Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed and seven others of conspiracy. The charge carries death penalty.
5. Atul Kulkarni, senior police officer of Mumbai, told NDTV, "After weighing the pros and cons, we decided we will get more from him (Headley) by having him as an approver than as an accused considering his plea bargain agreement in the US. All the necessary people have been kept in the loop."
6. The police wants to question Headley regarding the involvement of Pakistan army and its Inter-Services Intelligence.
7. Earlier, during his questioning by officers of India's National Investigation agency, Headley allegedly said three senior Pakistan army officers played a prime role in the 26/11 attacks.
8. The same Pakistani officers were reportedly named by Lashkar terrorist Abu Jundal, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, against whom charges were framed last month in Mumbai.
9. Pakistan has repeatedly rejected the charge that its army officers were involved in the attacks. It put seven men on trial, including Lashkar commander Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi. The trial has been on for seven years, raising charges of tardiness from India. Earlier this year, Lakhvi was granted bail, creating fresh tension between Pakistan and India.
10. Headley was arrested in October 2009 from Chicago while on his way to Pakistan. In 2013, he was sentenced by a US court for his role in the 26/11 attacks. In his memoirs written from jail, he had detailed the 2009 attack from the planning stage.

Story First Published: December 10, 2015 17:51 IST