Canadian reporter defends accused brother

OTTAWA, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The brother of a Canadian man jailed in Chicago for alleged involvement in a plot to attack a Danish newspaper says Tahawwur Hussain Rana is innocent.

Abbas Rana, a political reporter for the Ottawa newspaper The Hill Times was quoted in Monday's edition of the newspaper that his brother Tahawwur is "honest" and "hard-working" and that the charges against him are false, Canwest News Service reported.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 46, was arrested along with David Coleman Headley, 49, of Chicago, for allegedly plotting to kill an editor and a cartoonist at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Indian authorities also allege the pair may have been involved in last year's Mumbai terrorist attacks which left 166 people dead, including two Canadians. the news service said.

"To the best of my knowledge, these charges are false. I know my brother. I love my brother. He's a man of integrity, he's honest, and he's a hard-working person," Abbas Rana told The Hill Times.