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The 49-year-old U.S. man accused of acting as a scout for the extremist organization behind the 2008 terrorist siege of the Indian city of Mumbai is expected to reverse his earlier not guilty plea later this week, Reuters reported (see GSN, Jan. 28).
A change of plea hearing for David Headley has been set for tomorrow in federal court in Chicago. The Pakistani-American man has been charged with carrying out surveillance activities over nearly two years of some of the Mumbai locations that were struck in the November 2008 attacks that killed more than 160 people. The Pakistani-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba is believed to have orchestrated the strikes.
Headley's scouting trips are also thought to have included visits to Indian states with nuclear sites.
He is also charged with plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that in 2005 published a controversial depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.
A U.S. District Court filing did not indicate which charges would be involved in the change in plea. Following his October apprehension, he has provided cooperation to U.S. authorities. (Andrew Stern, Reuters, March 16).
Headley previously entered pleas of not guilty to the 12 terror counts, some of which are capital charges, Agence France-Presse reported.
"I am really reluctant to go into the specifics of what he's pleading to," defense attorney John Theis said.
"I expect that there will be a plea agreement," he added. "And the details of that are what is being negotiated."
Federal authorities would not comment on the reported plea bargain (Mira Oberman, Agence France-Presse/Google News, March 16).