26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana claims health risks, torture if extradited to India, appeals US court for stay

New Delhi: Accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Tahawwur Rana has approached the United States Supreme Court seeking an emergency stay on his extradition to India. In his application, Rana argued that he would not survive long enough to be tried in India due to various reasons.

Rana, through an appeal, stated that “if a stay is not entered, there will be no review at all, and the US courts will lose jurisdiction, and the petitioner will soon be dead.”

The accused in the 26/11 terror attacks claimed that if extradited to India, the likelihood is very high that he will be subjected to torture as he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin.

He stated that 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.

He cited the Human Rights Watch 2023 World Report, which documents the BJP-led government’s systematic discrimination and stigmatization of religious minorities, particularly Muslims. Rana further argued that the Government in India is increasingly autocratic, and there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of torture if he surrendered to Indian authorities.

In addition to these concerns, Rana highlighted his deteriorating health. He suffers from a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm at immediate risk of rupture, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, and a mass suggestive of bladder cancer. He asserts that he cannot be sent into a “hornet’s nest” where he will be targeted due to national, religious, and cultural animosity.

The US Supreme Court recently rejected a review petition filed by Tahawwur Rana. Following this decision, President Donald Trump announced that his administration had approved Rana’s extradition, referring to him as “very evil.”

Tahawwur Rana is a known associate of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the November 26 attacks in Mumbai in 2008. (ANI)

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