26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Accused Tahawwur Rana's Extradition Stay Request Rejected By US Supreme Court

Los Angeles: The United States Supreme Court rejected 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana's " "emergency application" opposing his extradition to India. Rana on Thursday moved an "emergency application" with the US Supreme Court against his extradition to India. In the application he had claimed that he would be tortured there since he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin.

Rana is a Canadian national of Pakistani origin. He is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles. The Canadian national is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai attacks.

Rana had filed an "Emergency Application For Stay" with the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced that his administration approved the extradition of "very evil" Rana "to face justice in India". This followed the rejection of his review petition by the Supreme Court in January.

What Rana Said In The Petition:

In that petition, Rana had 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 had said.

The application had also stated that his "severe medical conditions" render extradition to Indian detention facilities, a "de facto" death sentence in this case.

Who Is Tahawwur Rana?

Tahawwur Hussain Rana is a Pakistani former military doctor who served in the Pakistan Army. Rana moved to Canada after gaining citizenship and became an immigration service businessman.

In 2011, he was convicted of providing support to the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and of allegedly plotting an attack on the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

On 17 January 2013, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the Danish newspaper attack case. A US court has denied the bail plea of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack and declared a fugitive by India, asserting that he has not negated the "risk of flight".

Rana was born and raised in Chichawatni in the province of Pakistan's Punjab and attained his education at the Cadet College Hasan Abdal. Notably, at this college, Rana befriended Headley. A physician by profession, Rana served as a captain general duty practitioner in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps.

He and his wife, who is also a physician, immigrated to Canada in 1997, and obtained Canadian citizenship in June 2001.

Rana along with Headley planned the Mumbai terror attack.