Tanika Godbole and Dmytro Hubenko 
The US Supreme Court cleared the extradition of terror convict Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted by India.
The Canadian national of Pakistani origin is wanted by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case.
“This is a big victory for India because Tahawwur Rana is the person who knows many details of the criminal conspiracy behind the terror attack in Mumbai,” lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who was the public prosecutor in the Mumbai attacks case, told local media.
He added that it would reveal more information about Pakistan’s involvement in the attack.
Who is Rana?
Born in Pakistan in 1961, Rana is a former military doctor who served in the Pakistani army. He moved to Canada in 1997 and became an immigration service businessman. After gaining Canadian citizenship in 2001, Rana moved to Chicago in order to expand the reach of his immigration consultancy business.
He was detained in the US less than a year after the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
After a lengthy trial, Rana was sentenced in the United States in 2013 to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist plot in Denmark and providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organisation operating in Pakistan that was responsible for the Mumbai terror strikes.
The plot in Denmark included a gruesome plan to behead employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, and dump their heads on the streets of Copenhagen.
Parallel to his imprisonment in the US, Rana was fighting an extradition effort launched by India. After losing legal battles in lower and federal US courts against extradition, he filed a petition to the US Supreme Court. His review petition was denied by the court on January 21. This was his last appeal against extradition to India.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks
On November 26, 2008, ten Pakistani terrorists entered India’s financial capital Mumbai from the Arabian Sea using boats. They used guns and bombs in one of the worst attacks on the city.
They laid siege in the southern part of the city for more than 60 hours, attacking various landmark locations such as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Mahal Hotel, Nariman House, the Cama and Albless Hospital, Metro Cinema and Leopold Cafe.
A total of 175 people died in the attacks, including three Germans and six Americans.
The attack was orchestrated by the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Only one of the attackers, Ajmal Kasab, survived. He was the source of a lot of intelligence gathered by Indian agencies on the attacks. After a trial and conviction, in November 2012, he was hung to death at the Yerawada jail in Pune.
The 26/11 attacks put a further strain on relations between India and Pakistan. New Delhi accused Islamabad of not doing enough to control terrorism within the country.
What are the charges against Rana?
Rana is known for his close ties with Pakistani-American David Headley, one of the main architects of the attack.
He is accused of providing the blueprint that helped plan the attack, helping Headley in his travels, and assisting other Laskhar-e-Taiba members during the attack.
He has been charged with several crimes in India, including criminal conspiracy and waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India.
Rana was arrested in October 2009 and convicted in 2011 in the US. India filed for his extradition in 2019.
Apart from the 26/11 attacks, he is also accused of planning attacks on the National Defence College and a Jewish outreach centre in Mumbai.
This article was originally published on DW.