Tahawwur Hussain Rana

Personal life

Tahawwur Hussain Rana was born and raised in Chichawatni in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. He attained his education from the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, a military residential college in Pakistan (where he met and befriended David Headley, then still known as Daood Gilani). A physician by profession, Rana served as a captain general duty practitioner in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps. He and his wife, who is also a physician, immigrated to Canada in 1997, and obtained Canadian citizenship in June 2001. He lived primarily in Chicago and owns several businesses including an immigration service agency, First World Immigration Services, with offices in Chicago, New York and Toronto. He also owns a home in Ottawa where his father and brother stay.

His younger brother Abbas Rana is a journalist with The Hill Times and had been reporting on politics and the Canadian parliament for seven years. Abbas says his brother is innocent and has no links with terrorism; "To the best of my knowledge, these charges are false. I know my brother. I love my brother. He’s a man of integrity, he’s honest, and he’s a hard-working person." Rana's arrest had a devastating impact on the family. Writing under the heading "Why The Hill Times supports its reporter, Abbas Rana," the weekly's publisher said "As I read about his brother’s case in news stories from Chicago, to India, to Canada, I can’t help but notice the innuendo that appears to imply guilt in the reporting on allegations of terrorism."

When the story of Rana'a arrest broke out in American media, the news was kept hidden from his father who is in poor health. His father, who views cable news, was purposely shielded from watching news. When he gradually learned of the story, he became hospitalised. While serving at the Siachen glacier as a medical doctor, Rana got sick and was hospitalized suffering from pulmonary edema.

He claims that he had contact with Major Iqbal, an alleged ISI official, who promised him he would try to get Rana back on Pakistan, on the condition if Rana helped Iqbal’s friend (Headley) get back to Pakistan. Based on this, Rana's lawyer said Rana had no knowledge of the Mumbai attack and that Headley happened to manipulate Rana’s immigration business as a cover for his visits to Mumbai. In the same interrogation, Rana also testified that Headley may have possibly worked for the Lashkar-e-Taiba and been involved in militancy in Kashmir.

Arrest

Rana and Headley were charged and arrested on 18 October 2009 for plotting attacks on the offices of Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper which published the controversial cartoons of prophet Mohammad. During the subsequent interrogation, it was found out that Rana had traveled to Mumbai and had stayed in Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, one of the places which was attacked by terrorists for over four days in November 2008. His trial commenced on May 16, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. However, Rana maintains that he visited India with his wife on the pretext of interviewing people wishing to emigrate to Canada and the US, as part of his immigration consultancy business.

Rana and his family say he is a pacifist and has been duped, cheated and framed by Headley.

Trial

The opening statements of the trial were made on May 23, 2011 in Chicago. Key testimony at the trial was provided by Governments witness and Rana's childhood friend Headley who also provided details of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence support for Lashkar-e-Taiba. On June 9, 2011 jury convicted him of supporting terrorism by providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba and planning an aborted plot to bomb a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. He was acquitted of the third charge of involvement in 2008 Mumbai attacks. He faced up to 30 years in prison.

Rana's attorney said Rana was "in a state of shock" following the conviction. When he made his way to the court room to hear the verdict, he appeared very tense. Members of his immediate family were present during the hearing. In January, 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison.