26/11: Rana pleads not guilty

Arlander Keys on Monday and entered a plea of not guilty to the three counts of charges against him in the superseding indictment returned on January 14 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

During the arraignment that lasted about five minutes,Rana was informed about the charges against him and that he faces a potential life sentence. He took an oath before pleading not guilty.

Rana,49,responded briefly when the judge asked him to spell out his full name,age and date of birth and whether

he understood the charges against him. He has been in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre since his arrest in October last year and will remain detained in federal custody. A status hearing has been scheduled for February 24 before US District Judge Harry Leinenweber.

Rana and his co-conspirator David Coleman Headley,also arrested by the FBI,have been indicted on charges of plotting the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 that killed 166 people,including six Americans. Headleys lawyer John Theis was also present at the hearing. None of Ranas family members were present during the hearing.

Before the hearing began,Rana spoke briefly with his lawyer. Speaking to reporters after the arraignment,Ranas lawyer Patrick Blegen said,we have entered a plea of not guilty and are looking forward to contesting the allegations.