Three Indian men appear in court in Canada for first time, charged with murdering separatists
Three Indian men briefly appeared in court via video link in British Columbia, Canada, on the 7th to face charges of murdering a Canadian-Indian Sikh separatist. This is the first time the three defendants have appeared in court.
Three defendants were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on the 3rd of this month. All three are in their 20s and have lived in Canada for 3 to 5 years, but do not have permanent resident status. Three people were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Canada's "Vancouver Sun" reported that when they appeared in court separately on the 7th, the three defendants wore prison uniforms and connected to the court via video link from the same pretrial detention center. They agreed that the trial process would be conducted in English and nodded in confirmation after hearing the charges against them. The judge ordered an adjournment and asked the three defendants to appear in court again on the 21st to give the defendants more time to consult with their defense lawyers.
The court also agreed to the prosecution's request to issue a "no contact" order, prohibiting the defendant from communicating directly or indirectly with seven people, including the victim's son, 21-year-old Balraj Nijar.
The case attracted considerable attention locally. On that day, the court was filled with spectators, and many people poured into another room to watch the live broadcast of the trial through video screens.
A defense lawyer for one of the defendants predicts that the case will eventually reach the Supreme Court and that the lawsuits filed against the three individuals will eventually be consolidated and heard.
On June 18 last year, 45-year-old Nijar was shot and killed in a parking lot outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia. Nijar immigrated to Canada from India in the 1990s and obtained Canadian citizenship. He advocates independence for parts of India and was listed as a terrorist by the Indian government in July 2020.
This incident has tightened relations between Canada and India and triggered a diplomatic dispute. In September last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in Nijar's death, and Canada also expelled India's highest-ranking intelligence official in Canada. The Indian government firmly denied being involved in this incident and took retaliatory measures, including expelling Canadian intelligence officials in India, requiring most Canadian diplomats in India to leave the country, and once suspending the issuance of visas to Canadian personnel.
Canadian police said on the 3rd that they were investigating whether the three suspects were related to the Indian government. Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on the 4th that India is waiting for Canada to "share evidence". He also emphasized that Nijar's killing was mainly related to domestic political factors in Canada, involving the Sikh separatist lobby group and its "vote base" significance to some Canadian political parties, and had nothing to do with India.
Afan Bajwa, a criminal law and immigration lawyer in Surrey who is not related to this case, said that the next step for the three defendants should be to apply for bail, but he estimated that "it may be difficult"; if the judicial process continues to advance, the three defendants will Under trial in Canada; if convicted of first-degree murder, the corresponding penalty is at least 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole; if he is still a foreigner after his release, the Canada Border Services Agency will decide whether to return him to the country.
The report also quoted the Canadian Lawyers Journal as saying that if found not guilty, the three people may still be deported, because according to a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada last year, foreign citizens can be deported if they are deemed to "threat Canada's security." Can be deported.
According to US media reports, the Indian government has also been accused of a failed attempt to assassinate another Sikh separatist in the United States. In November last year, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted an Indian man, accusing him of attempting to assassinate New York City resident Gurpatwant Singh Pannon in the United States at the direction of an Indian intelligence officer. Pannon is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada and has also been designated a terrorist by the Indian government. The United States did not indict the Indian official or disclose his name, saying only that he was a "senior field official" responsible for "security management" and "intelligence" matters.
