Pakistani-origin Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Headley, accused of scouting targets for the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai, has pleaded not guilty in a court here to updated terror charges, some of which carry death penalty.
Headley, 49, entered a plea of not guilty to all the 12 charges against him in the superseding indictment returned on January 14 when he appeared for his arraignment before US magistrate judge Arlander Keys in US district court, Northern District of Illinois, at the hearing that lasted about 10 minutes yesterday.
The hands and legs of Headley, who was wearing the regular US prison uniform — an orange jumpsuit — were shackled, when he was brought into the packed courtroom. He talked briefly to his lawyers John Theis and Robert Seeder, before the hearing began. At one point, he even smiled and laughed.
Headley greeted the judge 'good morning' and responded, "I do, your honour" and "yes, your honour" when Keys asked him whether he understood the charges the prosecution read out to him, and that the maximum penalty in his case is death if convicted.
Headley said "that is correct" when the judge asked him if he is entering a not guilty plea.
The next status hearing has been set for February 23 before US district judge Harry Leinenweber. But Headley's lawyers have requested that his presence be waived. Therefore, he is not required to be present in the court for his hearing on that date.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who is Headley's accomplice and a Pakistani-Canadian LeT operative, appeared in the same court on Monday, and had also pleaded not guilty to providing material support to terror plots in Mumbai and Denmark.
This was the second appearance for Headley, who remains in federal custody at the lock-up at Metropolitan Correctional Centre (MCC) here since his arrest in October last year, in the court after December 7, when he had appeared for his first arraignment and pleaded not guilty.
A federal grand jury on January 14 returned a superseding indictment adding Rana to the charges filed in December against Headley, alleging they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terror attack against a Danish newspaper, and the strikes on Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
"Case is progressing. It is going to be a significant period of time while we review the evidence. We are in discussion with the government about what they believe Headley is responsible for," Headley's lawyer Theis told reporters.
Theis said he would not read anything particular into the fact that Headley appeared calm in the court and smiled while he was talking to his attorneys.
"Headley is a very intelligent man who is participating very actively in the defence. We talk to him of and about the evidence against him. He knows the seriousness and gravity of the charges against him, and I am confident he treats it as seriously as we do".
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