According to the agency, the accused persons have disclosed to them during interrogation that they were in “direct touch and abetted in their terrorist illegal activities by unknown terrorists carrying AK47 rifles”.A special NIA court on Friday turned down the request for consular access sought by six Ukrainians and an American arrested on March 13 for breaching national security. The court also extended their NIA custody by 10 days up to April 6.Earlier in the day, the judge allowed the agency’s plea seeking holding the proceedings at its headquarters. The NIA represented by Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi, Public Prosecutor Anil Dabas, and Advocates Jatin and Amit Rohilla had moved an application before Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Court citing a sensitive probe with global ramifications, and security concerns.Along with the NIA’s counsel and Judge Sharma, legal aid counsel Piyush Sachdeva, who appeared for the American, also went to the NIA headquarters.Also Read | 7 foreign nationals arrested by NIA | Possibly orchestrated: Ukraine on terror plot charge; India says legal processes being followedOn March 16, the court had allowed 11-day NIA custody of the accused, identified as US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Ukrainian nationals Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor.The foreign nationals were arrested on March 13 at three airports on charges of conspiring terrorist activities against India. The US national was detained by the Bureau of Immigration at Kolkata airport, while three Ukrainians each were detained at airports in Lucknow and Delhi.The NIA registered an FIR the same day under Section 18 (punishment for being part of a terrorist conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), among others.Also Read | 6 Ukrainians, American in NIA net: ‘Supply of drones to insurgents, illegal entry in Mizoram’According to the FIR, the accused persons had entered India on tourist visas on separate dates, and had flown to Guwahati. From Guwahati, they had allegedly travelled to Mizoram without the requisite documents. They had then allegedly crossed the border illegally into Myanmar with the intention of carrying out a “pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs)”, the NIA has said in its FIR.Story continues below this adAccording to the NIA’s investigation, multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by the accused persons to individuals and groups in Mizoram. According to the agency, the accused persons have disclosed to them during interrogation that they were in “direct touch and abetted in their terrorist illegal activities by unknown terrorists carrying AK47 rifles”. Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... 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