The minister Francisca Van Dunem decided not to accept the request for extradition Indian citizen Paramjeet Singh to the Republic of India, the Ministry of Justice (MJ).
The decision not to admissibility of the extradition request terminates the process, allowing the return of Paramjeet Singh to the UK, which was held in the Algarve on December 18, 2015.
According to MJ, the decision lies in the fact that Paramjeet Singh had qualified for refugee status given by the British authorities in September 2000, when he was granted asylum in that country and issued a valid travel document until April 24, 2023, which It enables you to move by several European Union countries, including Portugal.
Refugee status and asylum were recognized by the United Kingdom under the Relative UN Convention on the Status of Refugees of 1951 and according to the assessment made by the respective authorities on Paramjeet Singh.
The ministry also states that the British authorities have confirmed refugee status and asylum invoked by Paramjeet Singh.
“Most of the acts for which extradition is requested occurred in India, at a time when refugee status had been granted by the United Kingdom,” says the minister, adding that evaluation of the foundations of the right to asylum and refugee status was taken by the UK and remained, even after the issuance by India’s request for arrest for extradition purposes (internationally disseminated by Interpol channels).
So the Minister’s decision falls not only on the provisions of the UN Convention on Refugees – ratified by a group of 145 countries, including Portugal and the UK – but also the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which provides a common asylum policy across the European Union.
Portugal is also linked to the asylum system (Law 27/2008 of 30 June), which in turn transposes into national law the 2004 European directives and 2011.
This set of rules prohibits the return of the citizen who was granted refugee status in the country where it was allegedly persecuted or in danger of persecution, still indicates the MJ.
Recently, the parliamentary committee on Constitutional Affairs decided to send to the Minister of Justice a petition asking Paramjeet Singh Pamma, do not be extradited to India.
The chairman of the Constitutional Affairs, Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos, proposed that the petition was sent to the Minister of Justice because it is a responsibility of the Government, which was accepted unanimously by the members.
Bhai Paramjeet Singh Pamma, Sikh activist, was detained by the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) under an international arrest warrant for extradition issued by Interpol and is being held in prison in Beja.
The petition of the Portuguese parliamentary describes Paramjeet Singh as a Sikh nationalist arrested “on fabricated terrorism charges,” stating that “has been at the forefront of the campaign for the rights of Sikhs to self-determination to release the Punjab Indian occupation, in a democratic way.”