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Save Jasvir, Karan, Dalip and Harminder from expulsion
April 22, 2003
To:The Swiss Government
Reference: Case of –Jasvir Singh, Karan Singh Khalsa, Dalip Singh Khalsa, and Harminder Singh Khalsa.
We are writing to express our concern regarding your recent decision to expel the above referenced four Sikh men, who have been law-abiding residents of Switzerland for the last eight years. Your order, to expel them to India by May 8, 2003, poses serious threat to their lives because they have been participating in peaceful political activism against India while living in Switzerland. We understand that the basis of your decision to expel them is the façade of calm erected by India and the recent case of Tejinder Pal Singh, who was deported from Canada in 1997 and is allegedly leading a normal life in India. The Indian police upon his return have repeatedly harassed Tejinder Pal Singh, who was not an active political dissident during his stay in Canada. For six months he was harassed by the Indian police and eventually filed a case against the government which is still pending in the Delhi courts. Jagmohan Singh who is the General Secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) a political party in Punjab has recently reported that Tejinder is “living a miserable life as the pressures of society and police are unrelenting.” We would like to make you aware of the various reasons why these men must not be expelled from Switzerland but rather granted political asylum. Recently Simranjit Singh Mann, a member of the Indian Parliament (an elected constituent), was charged under TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act), a defunct law. The United Nations condemned TADA as "disturbing and completely unacceptable." (Nigel Rodley, UN Rapporteur). You may also be aware of a recent similar case involving Professor Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar who, upon deportation from Germany to India, has been sentenced to death by the Indian Supreme Court based on erroneous evidence (see www.voicesforfreedom.org for a dossier). The recent (March 31, 2003) US State Department human rights report (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18311pf.htm) cites India’s record of religious and social oppression directed primarily towards minorities (Sikhs are 2% of the Indian population situated predominantly in Punjab). The subject report, under the section on "Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation," states: "Under the Passports Act, the Government may deny a passport to any applicant who "may or is likely to engage outside India in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India." The Government used this provision to prohibit the foreign travel of some government critics, especially those advocating Sikh independence." Amnesty International issued a report in March 2003 titled AI membership expresses solidarity to the families of the disappeared in Punjab; this report documents the extra-judicial killings and disappearances conducted by the Punjab police to silence the voices of political dissidents and harass their family members. Amnesty point to the fact that virtually none of the police officers responsible for a range of human rights violations - including torture, deaths in custody, extra-judicial executions and "disappearances" have been brought to justice, creating an atmosphere in which state officials appear to believe that they can violate people's fundamental rights with impunity. These reports contradict the surface calm presented by India. The four Sikh men in question had hijacked an airplane in 1984. While we do not condone their actions we are concerned that even after being punished for their offenses if they are sent back to India they will face further persecution. They did not commit any acts of violence against the passengers or crew and have served their complete prison sentence in Pakistan. As per their statements they chose this method to highlight the plight of their people in India with no intention of causing harm. Sikhs are still languishing in Indian jails without charge or trial, some since 1984; illegal detention and torture of Sikhs is commonplace and well documented by independent human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. The Indian Government continues to use violent methods to quell peaceful political activism, a right of an individual living in a democratic state. U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has said that for Sikhs, Kashmiri Muslims, and other minorities “India might as well be Nazi Germany.” The U.S. State Department reported in 1994 that the Indian government paid out over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. We urge you to review your recent decision in light of the information provided in this document, which paints a rather bleak picture of the reality in India. Furthermore, we urge you to grant political asylum on humanitarian grounds to Jasvir Singh, Karan Singh Khalsa, Dalip Singh Khalsa, and Harminder Singh Khalsa. We are including some references below for your information.
Sincerely
Voices For Freedom
info@voicesforfreedom.org
Human Rights Sources on Punjab
  1. 1996 Amnesty International, Harjit Singh: The Continuing Pursuit of Justice
  2. 1995 Human Rights Watch, Encounter in Philibit: Summary Executions of Sikhs
  3. 1995 Amnesty International, Punjab Police: Beyond the Bounds of Law
  4. 1994 Amnesty International, The Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act: The Lack of “Scrupulous Care”
  5. 1994 Human Rights Watch, Arms and Abuses in Indian Punjab and Kashmir
  6. 1994 Human Rights Watch/Physicians for Human Rights, Dead Silence: The Legacy of Abuses in Punjab
  7. 1993 Amnesty International, “An Unnatural Fate”: Disappearances and Impunity in Punjab and Kashmir
  8. 1991 Asia Watch, Punjab in Crisis: Human Rights in India
  9. 1991 Amnesty International, Human Rights Violations in Punjab: Use and Abuse of the Law
  10. 2002 Voice For Freedom , India's minorities; the Sikhs, the Christians, the Muslims and the Dalits observe 55 years of repression and state-sponsored carnage
  11. 2003 Amnesty International, India: AI membership expresses solidarity to the families of the disappeared in Punjab
  12. 2002 United Stated Commission on International Religious Freedom, ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
 
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