When these two young men found that the Government was not willing to accept the findings of their own inquiry commission and the police were determined to kill them, they decided to leave the country. With the help of some travel agents, one by one they left India under false identity. Mr. Ranjit Singh Gill came first and was later joined by Mr. Sukhminder Singh Sandhu. They were in the United States for about one year before they were arrested by the F.B.I. on May 14, 1987 at the Indian Government’s diplomatic note. During the time they were in the United States they lived a very peaceful life and the United States Government has no charges against them.

They have not committed any crime in the United States or in India. However, the Indian Government has falsely implicated them in several murder and bank robbery cases and some of those murders (retired General A.S. Vidya) took place while they were in the United States.

The first hearing to extradite Mr. Gill and Sandhu was held on February 2, 1988. The hearing was held in the Newark, New Jersey Federal Court and Honorable Magistrate Ronald J. Hedges presided over the extradition hearing. The hearing was very biased. Both these young men were brought into the court with their hands and ankles in chains and shackles. They were treated like animals and they could not even drink water with their own hands. The Sikh community members who went to attend these hearings were treated like criminals. They were strip-searched at three different places and then herded together to and from the courtroom like a herd of sheep. All Sikhs were receiving this treatment because a month before the start of the extradition hearing the U.S. Justice Department’s prosecuting attorney, Ms Judy Russell started writing threatening letters to herself and the presiding magistrate. Her objective was to prejudice the presiding magistrate. Her tactics were successful as through her illegal act she was able to bias the opinion of the court of our country which GUARANTEES AN EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL. The entire Sikh community of the United States was treated like convicts with no civil rights.

After the first hearing and decision by the presiding magistrate to grant extradition of these young men the prosecuting attorney Ms. Judy Russell continued to claim that she was still the target of Sikhs and had received additional threatening letters and personal threats. The FBI was very actively involved in investigating this issue. They were following and investigating all prominent Sikhs. In a few instances Sikh families were continuously harassed. Finally the Sikh community announced a $10,000.00 cash award for a person who would reveal the source of these threats. This action by the Sikh community made the FBI and other agencies investigate the other side. The results of their investigation are reported in the leading articles of the area newspapers and are attached as Exhibit A in the enclosed booklet. This story was also aired by NBC on Television under the newspaper report and NBC clearly indicated that this was not the act of Ms, Russell alone. A brilliant and ethical attorney will never jeopardize his/her professional career without strong reasons.

The biggest tragedy of this whole incident is that it made the entire Sikh community suspect and we were held practically as hostage by the law enforcement agencies. When it was discovered that all the threats were orchestrated by the UNITED STATES PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, the whole issue took a dramatic and significant turn. Is this an indication of EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL? It is our understanding that she is back at her home and no charges have been filed against her. Our concern is that a person who broke the law of the land and interfered in our justice system, why is she not being prosecuted? It is very important that we must establish why she did it and who is behind it.

The extradition hearing of the Sikh young men, Mr. Ranjit Singh Gill and Mr. Sukhminder Singh Sandhu, is again scheduled for October 31, 1988. We are very concerned about the fairness of their trial due to the following reasons:

  1. Ms. Judy Russell’s action appears to have prejudiced the Honorable Magistrate Ronald J. Hedges. There cannot be any other reason for his denying all the requests of the defense attorney. For the sake of fairness to Mr. Gill and Mr. Sandhu and protection of the integrity of our justice system, this case should be assigned to a Judge.
  2. Mr. Sandhu and Gill’s extradition hearing will be based on the evidence and affidavits produced by Ms. Russell, how can the future of these two young men be decided on the evidence produced by a person who has been accused by our investigating agency of producing false evidence in the same case?
  3. To be fair to Mr. Gill and Mr. Sandhu and to preserve our justice system, it is imperative to investigate Ms. Russell and establish why she fabricated fake threats and who is behind this move. We must first determine whether or not she is guilty before we try these young men on the basis of evidence produced by her.
  4. Mr. Gill and Mr. Sandhu were arrested because of vague and unsubstantiated charges made against them by the Indian Government. So far they have not been convicted of any crime anywhere in the world. Ms. Russell has been accused by our own law enforcement agency for a grave crime. Our Justice Department is proceeding with the trial of Mr. Gill and Sandhu but not with that of Ms. Russell. This is definitely an indication of a double standard.