Five years after he began the surveillance operation that finally guided a ten-man death squad through the streets of Mumbai in November, 2008, Pakistani-American jihadist David Headley has entered into a plea bargain with U.S. prosecutors. In India, the deal has provoked media outrage but careful study of the Plea Agreement (accessible under Resources at beta.thehindu.com) shows that claims that Headley has got off lightly are misplaced. Plea bargains in the United States work around a complex points system set up by the United States Sentencing Commission. In return for pleading guilty to all the 12 terrorism-related charges, and for meeting specified obligations for cooperation with investigators, prosecutors will recommend a reduction in sentence. In essence, Headley will avoid facing the death penalty and will not be extradited to India, Pakistan, or Denmark. However, the judge hearing the case is not bound by the sentencing recommendations — and if they are rejected, Headley will not be able to withdraw his guilty plea. Nor, unlike an approver in an Indian criminal trial, will he be granted a pardon in return for giving state's evidence. Some commentators have speculated that the Plea Agreement means Headley was a secret U.S. agent. The truth is that the U.S. repeatedly passed on substantial intelligence to India of the looming threat to Mumbai in the months before 26/11. Had Headley been the source of those warnings, he would be in the process of receiving a medal — not life in prison.
Just what has Headley — who made a similar plea bargain earlier in his troubled life, in connection with a narcotics-trafficking prosecution — promised in return for his life? Paragraph 12 of the Plea Agreement states that he will, when directed to do so by the U.S. Attorney's office, “fully and truthfully participate in any debriefings for the purpose of gathering intelligence or national security information.” In addition, he will “fully and truthfully testify in foreign judicial proceedings held in the United States, videoconferencing or letters rogatory.” This means he will have no choice but to testify in the ongoing trial of Mumbai attack suspects if called on to do so by Maharashtra prosecutors. He must also cooperate in any future criminal proceedings initiated by the National Investigations Agency on the Lashkar-e-Taiba's plot to attack the National Defence College in New Delhi. Further, Headley has agreed to “the postponement of his sentencing until after the conclusion of his cooperation.” Paragraph 8 of the Plea Agreement reveals that he has already “provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation, and also has provided information of significant intelligence value.” This cooperation should strengthen the case against his co-accused, Tahawwur Rana, as well as key Lashkar operatives in Pakistan. Barring death-penalty enthusiasts, no one has any reason to bemoan the Plea Agreement. India's investigators and justice system must move quickly to capitalise on Headley's intelligence and testimony.
Correction
The last sentence of the first paragraph of “Behind Headley's plea bargain” (Editorial, March 20, 2010) was “Had Headley been the source of those warnings, he would be in the process of receiving a medal — not life in prison.” It should have read “Had Headley been the source of those warnings, he would have been in the process of receiving a medal ….”
I don't know whether I should feel pity for the Indian judiciary or admire the American one....
The press and the people appear to draw the conclusions.
Notice how quickly the American judicial system to punish this terrorist, while in India cases linger on. Many of the terrorists never face their punishment. Defense lawyers and human rights advocates are often in cahoots with the actual terrorists to generate false and inflammatory information.
On the other hand, the American system is pragmatic and moves quickly. It is often better to plea bargain to obtain further information. Do not forget that the people who really responsible for the Mumbai massacre are senior Pakistani officials and leaders of LeT. The goal should be to go after these people and this is one small step in that direction.
Headley's case shows how useful the American Judicial System is. There is no use of hanging people like Headley and Kasab. We should thank our luck that we were able to catch these people alive and should make good use of it by extracting maximum information about the infrastructure that supports these terrorist attacks. One can expect full cooperation from Headley and Kasab only if they are promised life after the trial. In the case of Kasab, we want all the information from him and in the end our system would hang him. Thus, he has no motivation to help the police and the Indian Government. We should get a cue from this event and incorporate such features in our Indian Judicial system.
Great article. It's nice to see some concrete analysis amidst all chaos generated by the India media. I'm sure Headley would have no choice but to prove the conspiracy fetched in Pakistan for 26/11 attacks. I hope India use this information to put pressure on Pakistan to act against the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks which includes Hafiz Saeed as well.
From
Elangovan,
Professor Of English,
English Department
PT Lee Engineering College,
Oovery, Kanchipuram-631502
20/3/2010
To The Editor, (letters)
The Hindu,
Chennai-600002
Sir,
This refers to the editorial "Behind Headley's plea bargain" ( The Hindu, March, 20). Though David Coleman Headley is the king pin, who is behind the script of 26/11 tragedy, that should not render New Delhi unable to see the wood infested with hard core terrorists like Hafiz Sayeed, who is enjoying the full support of Pakistan, for the trees like Kazab and their ilks.
Given the stand adopted by the U S, that treats Pakistan as a long term ally, Headley will in all likelihoods be treated with kids gloves. All the same India should have access to information from the Chicago Court where Headley is being tried that may optimally be utilized in prosecuting Kasab for the 26/11 killing spree orchestrated by Pakistan. .
S.Elangovan, Kanchipuram
Apt observation! But, do we have a similar system of plea in India? Vital information that could potentially save thousands of lives and bust terror-networks, in exchange of possible pardoning of death sentence? This latest development in the Headley trial, unequivocally brings forth, the scope and superiority of the American justice system.
This is also a pointer to the 'neat'system of interrogation where the accused is not subjected to torture or inhibition. The interrogators were successful in winning the heart of the accused--a euphemism for effectively cornering him when the accused was assured that he had no other choice!
Getting a trained terrorist convinced of his helplessness and then demanding the information can be far effective than simply subjecting him to torture and squeezing out possibly misleading leads.
I do not share your enthusiasm. We have been taken for a ride by the FBI to save its own and Pakistani links with the accused. Americans make sure that the information we get doesn't implicate Pakistan. US is sharing information selectively to save Pakistan from embarrassment.
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