Three Sikh men under the age of 30 have been sentenced to life-terms in prison in India, based on ‘facebook posts and reading books’ according to UK based international humanitarian aid charity Sikh Relief.
Arwinder Singh (29), Surjit Singh (27), both of Punjab, and Ranjit Singh (29) of Haryana, were convicted on January 31st and sentenced on February 5th. Indian media allege the sentencing is based on first-of-its-kind cases, where the accused have been sentenced on recovery of incriminating literature and NOT any ammunitions for an act of violence.
Sikh Relief, through their Sikh Organisation of Prisoner Welfare project, have over a decade of experience in working to ensure Sikh detainees of the Indian government receive fair and due process, a task focused on due to the well known human rights breaches that are common within the Indian judicial process, especially for minorities such as the Sikhs in India whom make up less than 2% of the national population.
Via social media Sikh Relief, who are the only organization providing legal support and welfare to the three accused, stated “Sikhs sentenced to life in prison for allegedly waging war against the Union States of India by Facebook posts and reading books? How is this not a world recognised issue? Will the international community simply continue to watch and offer no condemnation?”.
Balbir Singh Bains, chairman of Sikh Relief/SOPW further added “We are shocked at the dangerous precedent that has been set by this judgement and the wider implications it has on the basic freedom of speech and expression of Sikhs across India. Our defence council led by Adv Rajvinder Singh Bain’s alongside Adv Sarabjit Singh Bains and Adv Kulvinder Kaur will be filing an appeal at the High Court imminently”.
See a press release from Sikh Relief on the sentencing here.
‘Evidence’ recovered from interrogation and searches included 10 books on ‘Operation Blue Star’, the notorious Indian government attack on the Sikh holy site of Sri Harmandir Sahib, according to Sikh Siyasat. A court statement on the conviction published by Indian media claimed ‘From the material on record, common intention and object which brought the accused together, could be easily gathered from the documentary evidence such as books, literature, pamphlets which are seized from them for which they have offered no objectionable.
‘They have kept the aforesaid material with them with the intention of using same for propaganda and inciting people to resort to violence with the objective of waging war against the Government of India, to establish an independent State/Nation by the name of Khalistan’.
With the reverence of Sikh history and Shaheeds (Sikh martyrs) being an integral part of the Sikh faith, alongside the fact that belief in and support for Khalsa Raj (a rule of the Khalsa <initiated Sikhs>) is a mandated philosophy of the Sikhs, this ‘first-of-its-kind’ ruling has prompted an outcry of concern from the international Sikh community, as yet further evidence of issues Sikhs face at the hands of the Indian government.
For further information, including specific case details, read an article by Sikh Siyasat here.