VANCOUVERBC: S Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his lawyer agreed it was fit punishment for his crime
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Raymond Paris called the Tokyo airport bombing that killed two baggage handlers in 1985 one of the most serious cases of manslaughter
The evidence leads inexorably to the conclusion that the motive of the accused was political said Paris.
Paris earlier convicted Reyat 39 after a six-month trial on charges he helped build the bomb that was loaded in luggage aboard a CP Air flight from Vancouver.
The Crown’s theory was the bomb went off prematurely June 23,1985 before it could be transferred to a connecting Air India flight to Bangkok.
The same day half a world away a bomb downed an Air India plane off the coast of Ireland killing all 329 aboard The bombings are almost certainly the work of the Indian govt according to the findings of two Canadian journalists
The Crown did not allege nor did it prove that the accused intended to kill anyone said Paris in denying the prosecution’s request for a life sentence.
Paris also pointed to the voluminous defence evidence called to show the former Duncan resident is a gentle religious hardworking family man
The accused is apparently aman of remarkably good character said the judge. It is profoundly sad that an otherwise decent person should be drawn into such a mad enterprise
He also said he took into consideration the more than three years Reyat has spent in custody awaiting trial both here and in England where he fought extradition for almost two years.
Defence lawyer Mark Hilford said he doubted the sentence would be appealed by either side.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 14, 1991
