A U.S. District court is set to take up the status hearing of LeT operative David Coleman Headley, charged with conspiring in the Mumbai terror strikes and plotting attacks against a newspaper office in Denmark.
The hearing is scheduled before Judge Harry Leinenweber in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday, according to the court’s Website.
However, Headley, a Pakistani-American, may not be present for the hearing as his lawyers John Theis and Robert Seeder had previously requested Leinenweber that their client’s “presence be waived” at the status hearing, which means he would not be required to appear in court on Tuesday.
During the hearing, Headley’s lawyers would brief the judge about progress made in the case.
After Headley’s arraignment last month, Mr. Theis had said he would “review the evidence with Headley” and during the status hearing would report to the judge about how things are moving along and whether “we are making progress as to an ultimate disposition of the case”.
Headley, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting terror attacks in India and Denmark, remains detained in federal custody at the federal lock—up Metropolitan Correctional Centre.
Headley was arrested by the FBI on October 18, 2009 in Chicago.
Co—accused Pakistani—Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana is set to appear for his status hearing on February 24 before Judge Leinenweber.
Rana too has pleaded not guilty to providing material support to terrorism in India and Denmark and to terrorist organisation LeT.
Headley and Rana were on January 14 indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of being involved in the Mumbai terror attacks and planning a terror strike against a Danish newspaper in Copenhagen.
The 12-count superseding indictment contains the identical charges that were filed against Headley on December 7 while adding Rana as a defendant in three of the counts charging material support of the terrorism plots in Denmark and India, as well as in support of terrorist group.
