Priyanka Tiwari
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Tahawwur Rana, who is accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has submitted a request to the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, seeking to halt his extradition to India. Rana's request is based on serious health concerns that he claims would prevent him from surviving long enough to face trial in India.
The request was filed just days after the US Supreme Court Judge Elena Kagan rejected his previous petition. The US Supreme Court has scheduled a conference to review the case on April 4, 2025, and Rana has renewed his emergency application, asking for a stay on his extradition.
In his appeal, Rana stated, "Petitioner Tahawwar Rana has renewed his Emergency Application for Stay Pending Litigation of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, which was previously addressed to Justice Kagan, and requests that the renewed application be directed to Chief Justice Roberts."
Earlier this month, Judge Kagan had denied Rana’s request for a stay. In his legal filing, Rana argued that due to his critical health conditions, including a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm at risk of rupture, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, and a mass suggestive of bladder cancer, he would not survive long enough to stand trial in India.
Rana further emphasized that, without the stay, there would be no further judicial review, and the US courts would lose jurisdiction over the case, placing him in immediate danger of death.
Rana’s Concerns Over Torture
Rana’s appeal also raised concerns about the possibility of being tortured if extradited to India. He claimed that his Muslim faith, Pakistani origin, and past associations with the Pakistani Army would make him particularly vulnerable to abuse and torture. According to Rana, his ethnicity, religion, and the charges related to his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks increase the likelihood of such mistreatment. He believes that these factors would lead to his death if he were sent to India.
Background on Tahawwur Rana
Tahawwur Rana, born in 1961 in Chichawatni, Punjab, Pakistan, is a former physician and a former Captain in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps. After moving to Canada in 1997 with his wife, also a physician, Rana became a Canadian citizen in 2001. He later moved to the US, where he settled in Chicago. Rana owns multiple businesses, including First World Immigration Services, with offices in Chicago, New York, and Toronto.
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