Washington, Jan 27 (IANS) Pakistani-American terror suspect David Headley Wednesday pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to bomb public places in India and abetting the murder of American citizens in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people.
Son of a Pakistani father and American mother, Headley, who changed his given name of Daood Sayed Gilani in 2006 to hide his Pakistani origin, also denied providing material support to the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for the Nov 26, 2008, terrorist attack in Mumbai.

Headley, 49, also pleaded not guilty in a Chicago federal court to 12 charges, including charges that he provided support in an alleged plot to assassinate the editor and cartoonist at a Danish newspaper for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

He could be sentenced to death if convicted of the most serious charges, but prosecutors say he is cooperating with their investigation.

Headley’s associate, Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana had also pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he provided material support to terrorists for the Mumbai attacks and in an alleged plot to assassinate the editor and cartoonist at a Danish newspaper.

Both Rana and Headley have been held in a Chicago jail since their arrest in October by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).