San Francisco Immigration Judge Bernard Hornbach ruled on Feb 6 that the Indian security forces had arrested and brutally tortured Poonardeep Singh on two separate occasions because of his non-violent political activities on behalf of the Sikh Students Federation (SSF). Finding that Singh could not safely return to India at this time Hornbach granted Singh political asylum in the United States.
According to evidence presented by his attorney Robert Jobe Singh was arrested three days after an SSF demonstration in which he accused the Indian security forces of killing his close friend and fellow SSF member Jaspal Singh in a false encounter. Following his arrest Singh was stripped of his clothing and brutally beaten with leather straps and wooden rods. The police place a wooden roller on Singh’s legs; two policemen stood on the roller and. slowly moved it up and down Singh’s legs crushing the muscles in Singh’s legs and leaving him virtually unable to walk.
Judge Hornbach found that there was “no doubt” that Singh had testified truthfully about his arrest and torture. Moreover Judge Hornbach found the “evidence presented established that mistreatment of Sikhs is not isolated but is widespread consistent and systematically carried out by the Indian Authorities.”
Other immigration judges have found that the Indian security forces have targeted AISSF members and their families for arrest and torture. On January 14- 1992 Immigration Judge Dana Marks Keener granted asylum to Manjit Kaura Sikh who feared arrest and torture because of bothers activities on behalf of the All India Sikh Student Federation Manjit Kaur testified that the Indian police had raided her home on 15 to 20 separate occasions in search of her brother Balvinder Singh. On their last visit the police threatened that if Manjit Kaur and her family failed to produce Balvinder Singh to the police the entire family would be arrested. Following this threat Manjit Kaur fled from India to the United States where she applied for asylum. Her attorney Robert Jobe argued that the Indian police have a pattern and practice of arresting family members of AISSF activists. Mr. Jobe introduced a recent report from Amnesty International which states:
Amnesty International has received numerous reports that family members including brother’s father’s mothers and sisters have been detained and often tortured if the person the police wanted to arrest could note found if the police wanted to extract information about that persons whereabouts or in retaliation for bringing legal action on behalf of missing family members.
After reviewing Amnesty International’s findings Judge Keener ruled that Manjit Kaurs fears of persecution in India were “well founded and granted her application for asylum.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 21, 1992
