Tahawwur Rana’s plea says his ‘severe medical conditions’ would render his extradition a ‘de facto’ death sentence; the likelihood of torture is higher since he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin, it adds.
Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Rana has moved an “emergency application” with the U.S. Supreme Court against his extradition to India, claiming that he will be tortured in India since he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin.
Mr. Rana, 64, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged in a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles. He is known to be associated with the Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his administration approved the extradition of “very evil” Mr. Rana, wanted by Indian probe agencies for his role in the 26/11 attacks, “to face justice in India”. This followed the rejection of his review petition by the Supreme Court in January.
Now, Rana is seeking a stay on his extradition and surrender to India pending litigation (including exhaustion of all appeals) on the merits of a petition he filed on February 13. In that petition, Mr. Rana argued that his extradition to India violates United States law and the United Nations Convention Against Torture “because there are substantial grounds for believing that, if extradited to India, petitioner will be in danger of being subjected to torture”. “The likelihood of torture in this case is even higher though as petitioner faces acute risk as a Muslim of Pakistani origin charged in the Mumbai attacks,” the application said.
‘Health issues’
It also said that his “severe medical conditions” render extradition to Indian detention facilities, a “de facto” death sentence.
It cited medical records from July 2024 showing that he has multiple “acute and life-threatening diagnoses”, including multiple documented heart attacks, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, a mass suggestive of bladder cancer, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and a history of chronic asthma, and multiple COVID-19 infections.
“Accordingly, petitioner certainly has raised a credible, if not compelling, factual case that there are indeed substantial grounds for believing he would be in danger of torture if surrendered to Indian authorities. Further, because of his Muslim religion, his Pakistani origin, his status as a former member of the Pakistani Army, the relation of the putative charges to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and his chronic health conditions he is even more likely to be tortured than otherwise would be the case, and that torture is very likely to kill him in short order,” the application said.
