Ahead of his February 24 hearing, Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror suspect Tahawwur Rana has sought a date from a court in Chicago for a pretrial conference to ensure a fair and expeditious trial for him, according to his lawyer.
Federal prosecutors on Monday filed an 8-page motion in United States District Court asking that during Rana's February 24 status hearing, a date in March be set for the pretrial conference.
Responding to the motion, Rana through his lawyer Patrick Blegen said that a hearing 'prior to the February 24 status appearance is more appropriate.'
"Defendant has been in custody under extremely onerous conditions for nearly four months. No discovery has been tendered since well before the return of the superseding indictment. And, the issues to be addressed in a pretrial conference relate primarily to scheduling," Blegen said in his four-page response filed in a Chicago court today.
Objecting to the timing requested by the government, he said the conference should be held 'promptly' and 'a month's time should not be necessary for the government to determine what will be provided to the defense and when it will be provided.'
A pretrial conference, called at the discretion of the court, is held among the opposing attorneys and the judge to narrow the issues to be tried.
Pakistani-Canadian Rana had pleaded not guilty last month to charges in the 12-count superseding indictment that allege that he provided material support to terrorist plots in Denmark and India, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The pretrial conferences are conducted to promote a fair and expeditious trial and to decide preliminary matters such as what evidence will be excluded from trial and what witnesses will be allowed to testify.
Blegen said since his October 2009 arrest, Rana has been held in the 'Secured Housing Unit' on the 11th floor of the federal lock-up Metropolitan Correctional Center.
"Among other things, defendant is held essentially in solitary confinement, has very limited access to the law library, limited access to his family, cannot socialise with other inmates and cannot attend religious services," Blegen's response said.
In the motion, prosecutors Victoria Peters and Daniel Collins have submitted that due to the nature of the charges and the expected evidence, 'issues relating to classified information' will arise in connection with this case.
Consequently, the government seeks a pretrial conference 'on a date in March...to establish a discovery and motion schedule relating to any classified information.'
Prior to that conference, the government will endeavour to identify all possible classified material and determine its potential applicability, nature and volume, the motion said.
A status hearing has been set for February 24 in US District Court, northern district of Illinois.
