'No attack on David Headley': Lawyer dismisses reports
Hours after reports emerged that 2008 Mumbai attack convict David Headley was fighting for life after being attacked in prison, his lawyer has dismissed the claims. "I have no information (about the attack)," John Theis, who has represented David Headley for years, told HT. The reports were "news to me." However, he refused to reveal Headley's whereabouts.
Headley's involvement in the deadly Mumbai attacks
David Coleman Headley is an American citizen of Pakistani origin who conspired with the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistani intelligence officers in plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was a former drug smuggler turned informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration of the US. Using his US passport, Headley travelled to India to scout locations for the plot, film them and find landing site for the attackers.
US court sentences Headley to 35 years in prison
In January'13, Headley was sentenced by a US federal court to 35 years in prison for his part in the 2008 attacks. He pleaded guilty and admitted to scouting potential target locations in Mumbai. Under the plea bargain agreement he struck with the US government, Headley escaped execution and dodged life imprisonment. He also got protection against extradition.
Headley in ICU after inmates' attack, reports claimed
Hours ago, reports emerged that Headley had been rushed to the ICU after being attacked by two fellow inmates. The attack purportedly happened on July 8 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, following which he was taken to North Evanston Hospital. But Theis dismissed them, saying, "I cannot disclose where he is but I can tell you I have no information that he was attacked."
So where is Headley, again?
Authorities have never disclosed where Headley is being held. After reports of the attack, when PTI asked the Metropolitan Correctional Center, it said, "We are not able to locate information about this individual." Searching 'David Coleman Headley' on the inmate-locater of the US' federal Bureau of Prisons returns "0 Results," HT reports. "David Headley" throws up an inmate released in 1992.
