SAN FRANCISCO: Satnam Singh, an activist of the AISSF was granted political asylum by Judge Dona Marks Keener here on July 25.
‘Satnam Singh who belonged to the Ladian village in Hoshiarpur district was arrested by the police in India almost a dozen times. He ‘was tortured by them and bears scars where the policemen inflicted wounds on him. He was arrested at San Francisco airport on April 10 while traveling on a U.S. passport which didn’t belong to him. He then applied for asylum.
Immigration judge Keener granted him the asylum after five and a half hours of testimony spread over two days July 21 and July 25.
At the end of the testimony, which immigration officers contended was fabricated, Judge Kener said, that either he was the greatest liar she had ever met or he was telling the truth. “I have no reservations that he is telling the truth,” the judge said.
Judge Kener had granted the asylum to Harbhajan Singh in 1987, the first time a Sikh was granted asylum in the United States. Satnam Singh’s case was represented by Attomey Mohinder Singh who has very successfully Represented Sikh clients in their bids to get political asylum here. He has taken up a number of cases in which the respondents did not have nay money to pay to an Attomey. He is also an active Sikh social worker,
This is the ninth case in which Mohinder Singh’s client has been given a asylum here.
The INS has reserved its right to appeal the decision. If it chooses to do so it has to file the appeal within 10 days.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 4, 1989
