David Headley

David Headley
Born
Daood Sayed Gilani

(1960-06-30) June 30, 1960 (age 64)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation(s)Video store proprietor
DEA informant
Member of Lashkar-e-Taiba
Children4[1]
Parent(s)Sayed Salim Gilani (father)
Alice Serrill Headley (mother)
Conviction(s)Conspiracy to bomb places of public use in India (18 U.S.C. § 2232)
Conspiracy to murder and maim in India (18 U.S.C. § 956)
Murder of United States nationals abroad (18 U.S.C. § 2332) (6 counts)
Conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorists in India and Pakistan (18 U.S.C. §§ 2339A and 2339B)
Conspiracy to murder and maim in Denmark (18 U.S.C. § 956)
Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in Denmark (18 U.S.C. § 2339A)
Providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (18 U.S.C. § 2339B)
Criminal penalty35 years imprisonment

David Coleman Headley (born Daood Sayed Gilani; June 30, 1960) is an American terrorist. He is known for assisting the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks; providing multiple surveillance and terrorist reconnaissance missions throughout central Mumbai.

Born in Washington D.C, He became a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant as part of his plea deal following multiple heroin related offenses, including attempting to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. from Pakistan. After being placed on probation he made frequent unauthorized visits to Pakistan and became involved in the local jihad after being introduced to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).[2][3][4] Under the direction of Lashkar representatives, Headley performed five surveillance missions in Mumbai to scout targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The following year, he performed a similar mission in Copenhagen to help plan an attack against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which had published cartoons of Muhammad. He was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport while on his way to Pakistan in October 2009.[2][5]

U.S. authorities gave Indian investigators direct access to Headley,[6] but some in India have questioned why the U.S. had not shared suspicions about him with Indian authorities before the Mumbai attacks.[7] At the trial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, an alleged co-conspirator, Headley gave detailed information about the participation of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in carrying out the attacks.[8][9] Since his arrest and guilty plea, Headley has cooperated with U.S. and Indian authorities and given information about his associates.[10][11][12][13] On January 24, 2013, a U.S. federal court sentenced Headley to 35 years in prison for his role in the Mumbai attacks.[14][15]

Headley was prosecuted by a Mumbai special court in early February 2016, via a video link from his prison cell in the United States. He was prosecuted by special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, the same lawyer who represented the state during the Mumbai attack trials.

  1. ^ "The American Behind India's 9/11 – and How U.S. Botched Chances to Stop Him". January 24, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Sebastian Rotella (October 17, 2010). "Scout in Mumbai attacks was DEA informant while in terror camp, authorities say". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2010. "U.S. authorities took seriously what Headley's former wives said," a senior administration official said. "Their information was of a general nature and did not suggest any particular terrorist plot." But Headley's wife's considerable knowledge of Lashkar should have reinforced her credibility, because the Pakistani extremist group is not well known to the average American.
  3. ^ Sebastian Rotella (November 22, 2011). "Did the U.S. know more than it let on about Mumbai attacks suspect?". PBS Frontline-ProPublica. Retrieved April 12, 2015. The DEA officials said Headley's relationship with the anti-drug agency was more limited than has been widely described. The DEA officially deactivated Headley as a confidential source on 27 March 2002, according to a senior DEA official. That was weeks after he began training in Lashkar terror camps in Pakistan and six years before the Mumbai attacks. ....Headley has testified that he did not stop working for the DEA until September 2002, when he had done two stints in the Lashkar camps.
  4. ^ "Five Surprising Facts About the American Behind "India's 9/11"". FRONTLINE. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Emily Wax; Greg Miller (October 21, 2010). "Indian report accuses Pakistan's intelligence service of significant role in Mumbai siege". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  6. ^ K.P. Nayar (April 11, 2010). "Cautious Steps on Headley". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012.
  7. ^ Vishwa Mohan (June 7, 2010). "Headley won't be able to hide behind US law". The Times of India. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
  8. ^ Burke, Jason (October 18, 2010). "Pakistan intelligence services 'aided Mumbai terror attacks'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  9. ^ Freeze, Colin (May 23, 2011). "Pakistani spies work with terrorists, U.S. court hears at trial of Canadian". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  10. ^ "US citizen David Headley admits role in Mumbai attacks". BBC. March 18, 2010.
  11. ^ Chuck Goudie (June 4, 2010). ""India's top crime-fighter in Chicago for terror case"". ABC News 7. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  12. ^ Narayan Lakshman (June 12, 2010). "NIA's seven-day access to Headley "useful"". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010.
  13. ^ PTI news wire (July 9, 2010). "NIA seeks non-bailable warrant against Headley, Rana, Saeed". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  14. ^ Sweeney, Annie (January 24, 2013). "Chicago man gets 35 years in Mumbai terror attack". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  15. ^ "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION" (PDF). justice.gov.