Tahawwur Hussain Rana, Terror Support, Illinois 2011

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 52, Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Terror Support

CHICAGO, IL – A Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 52, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist plot in Denmark and providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in Pakistan.

The defendant, a Canadian citizen, was convicted of the charges on June 9, 2011, following a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Rana was ordered to serve 14 years, followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber.

Rana was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a plot from October 2008 to October 2009 to commit murder in Denmark, including a horrific plan to behead employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen, as well as providing material support, from late 2005 to October 2009, to Lashkar, a militant jihadist organization operating in Pakistan. Lashkar planned and carried out the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, before initially planning the terrorist attack in Denmark in retaliation for the newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Rana was acquitted of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks.

“This serious prison sentence should go a long way towards convincing would-be terrorists that they can’t hide behind the scenes, lend support to the violent aims of terrorist organizations, and escape detection and punishment,” said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Rana is one of two defendants to be convicted, among a total of eight defendants who have been indicted, in this case since late 2009. Co-defendant David Coleman Headley, 52, pleaded guilty in March 2010 to 12 terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai. Headley, who is scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday, has cooperated with the government since he was arrested in October 2009, and testified as a government witness at Rana’s trial. He is facing a maximum of life in prison.

The evidence at Rana’s trial showed that he knew he was assisting a terrorist organization and murderers, knew their violent goals, and readily agreed to play an essential role in achieving their aims. The government contended that Rana knew the objective of his co-conspirators was to retaliate against and influence the Danish government for its perceived role in the publication of the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, and he knew that the goal of Lashkar was to retaliate against and influence the Indian and Danish governments and intended that the support he provided – enabling Headley’s activities – would be used to further these goals.

Rana is currently serving his 14-year sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, in a U.S. federal prison.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Violent Crime

Juan Carlos Talaveras, Human Trafficking, California 2023

Jul 1, 2016

Violent Crime

Tang Wei, Violent Crime, Pennsylvania 2002

Aug 1, 2002

Violent Crime

United States v. Capaldi, White-Collar Crime, Pennsylvania 2009

Jul 1, 2009

Violent Crime

Adrionna Leeper, Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery, Nebraska 2022

May 9, 2024