Thaindian News

Chicago, June 9 (IANS) As jury debated the fate of Pakistan-born Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, accused of providing support to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in carrying out the 26/11 Mumbai terror
attacks, his family claimed Rana is innocent.

The wife and daughter of Rana, who is accused of letting his military school friend confessed Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley use the cover of his Chicago-based immigration business to scout out targets for the Mumbai
attacks, insist that he is innocent of all charges against him, local WBEZ Radio reported.

“I’m pretty confident in my husband, and I’m fully confident in the jury, and my lawyers and of course God,” Samraz, Rana’s wife was quoted as saying.

Headley can’t be trusted, she asserted saying, “It was not the first time he fooled my husband.”

“He has not fooled only my husband but so many people, even his own wife. People who have been attached to him — he fooled all of them.”

Email correspondence between Headley and Rana, that was communicated with code, is evidence that has been brought against Rana. But Rana’s daughter Manaal told WBEZ that these emails do not prove her father’s guilt.

“(Headley) was trying to hide his multiple wives from my mother. He created another email to hide that fact, but he never actually used it to conspire or anything,” Manaal said. “I don’t think he actually used it at all. He made an email and now they’re attacking him for that.”

Neither Samraz nor her daughter Manaal feel that Rana has been treated fairly in his two years in jail awaiting trial, WBEZ said.

“He was put into solitary confinement, which I think is torture,” Manaal was quoted as saying. “I don’t think it’s fair for a person who is innocent until proven guilty to have to go through all of that.”