News / Asia

India Disappointed With Mumbai Terrorist Sentence

In this courtroom sketch, David Coleman Headley, 52 (l) is sentenced to 35 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber at federal court in Chicago, Jan. 24, 2013.
In this courtroom sketch, David Coleman Headley, 52 (l) is sentenced to 35 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber at federal court in Chicago, Jan. 24, 2013.
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VOA News
India says it is disappointed with the sentence a Pakistani-American man given in a U.S. court for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Friday David Coleman Headley deserves more than the 35-year prison sentence handed down Thursday in Chicago's federal court.

India had sought to have Headley extradited to face trial in India for his role in the attacks.

Headley could have received life in prison, but U.S. federal prosecutors asked for a lighter sentence because he provided information that led to charges against other people involved with the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

In November 2008, Lashkar terrorists took over a hotel, a Jewish center and other buildings in Mumbai for three days. The attack killed 166 people, including six Americans.

Headley said he scouted locations for other possible attacks and received training from Pakistan's intelligence service.

Headley also said he received weapons and other training from Lashkar-e-Taiba, which he says also coordinated with Pakistani intelligence.

Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency has long been suspected of involvement in the Mumbai attacks, and three ISI agents were named as co-conspirators by U.S. prosecutors. Headley testified that the ISI's involvement in the Mumbai plot was limited to a handful of rogue agents.

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by: JKF from: Ottawa, Canada
January 25, 2013 7:09 PM
The terrorist Headley should have been extradited to India. If the US had a terrorist incident in which 130+ innocent civilians had been killed on its territory, and one of the dastardly criminals had fled to another country; surely the US gvmt would have moved earth and sky to have the individual tried in front of the victimes. I think it sends a real bad message to other countries, the US expects terrorists that injur/kill US citizens to be handed over; while terrorists that kill/injury innocents in other countries, can in fact remain on US soil, and do not have to face their victimes in court. This was not a real good example, of reciprocity, by the US.