26/11 probe: Headley pleads not guilty

Despite cooperating with US federal prosecutors and investigators, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley pleaded not guilty to all charges, including those relating to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Despite cooperating with US federal prosecutors and investigators, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley pleaded not guilty to all charges, including those relating to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

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This was the second time in a month-and-a-half that he entered a plea of not guilty.

In a statement, Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office prosecuting the case, said: “David Coleman Headley appeared in Federal Court this morning before US Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys and entered a plea of not guilty to the 12 counts against him in the superseding indictment returned on January 14.”

Headley was originally arraigned on December 9 and, at that time, he had entered a plea of not guilty on all counts.
Speaking before the arraignment of Wednesday, Headley’s lawyer John Theis said: “I would say at the hearing we will persist in our plea of not guilty.”

This is considered unusual since in cases where the defendant is cooperating with the federal prosecutors, a plea of guilty is expected. Without referring directly to this case, Theis said that in such Federal cases even if a plea of not guilty was entered “some time later there may be a change in that”.