Campaign To Free Three Sikhs

[sikhlionz]

http://www.sikhsangat.org/ssn/publish/Engl...aches_FCO.shtml

Campaign to Free British Sikh reaches FCO

Since the arrest of grandfather Paramjeet Singh by Punjab Police on 23 December, a campaign has been led by human rights activists and people across the UK have contacted their MPs regarding his arrest and subsequent mistreatment. The community is disappointed that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office could be doing much more for a British citizen that has been subjected to mistreatment, having faced bogus charges in the past.

Many of these MPs have in turn contacted the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Margaret Beckett regarding this case. Clearly, there is a need for the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to meet with the family of Paramjeet Singh.

Back in India, Police did not turn up at court and so Paramjeet Singh's hearing was adjourned to 20 February 2007. A retired foundry worker and now a folk singer, he has been in the Nabha jail in Punjab since December.

He was arrested with two Indian men after police claimed they found explosives and firearms on Mr Singh’s land which they believe were going to be used to disrupt this month’s Punjab elections.

The father-of-four has been in India furnishing his new family home since October, with his wife and grand-daughter aged three.

His daughter stated her dad was beaten up by police and made to stand naked all night to force a confession. The Sikh Federation UK supports her campaign.

She stated: “During the first 36 hours he was tortured. I spoke to my mum [after first court appearance] and she couldn’t string a sentence together because she was crying so much.

“The hardest part is we’re here [in Wolverhampton] and he’s in this dingy, downtrodden place.”

The case sparked controversy as police initially claimed the explosives were found in the car Mr Singh was travelling in.

Later, cops said they were on land near his holiday home – with Indian newspapers reporting the police did not visit the area until after Mr Singh’s arrest.

His daughter, a solicitor in Birmingham, said:

“Firstly, The farm land is rented out to other people. Also, they said the explosives were found under a stash of hay – there is no hay on my Dad’s land.

“He’s a simple family man, not a terrorist. We’ve had no contact with him and it’s worrying because the system in India is not like the system here.

“My dad’s friends have travelled to support him. Hundreds of people from villages have rallied outside the court.

“I urge people to support the Sikh Federation. Also, write to their MPs and seek assurance it won’t happen to them when they travel.”

She believes her dad’s arrest was politically motivated as he was travelling with Bhai Jasbir Singh, a religious candidate in this month’s Punjab elections.

“It’s a typical example of the bogey of terrorism being raised for political motivation and past problems being used to defame innocent people,”.

Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the Sikh Federation (UK), said: “Meetings are being arranged with ministers in the Foreign Office and we also have plans to organise the first World Sikh Lobby and take this case to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in late March if the three Sikhs have not been released.”

[sikhlionz]

It is worth reading the SSNews article on Balbir Singh who recently got justice. His case was very similair to that of Paramjit Singh:

http://www.sikhsangat.org/ssn/publish/Indi...e_on_Sikh.shtml

There has been an IMPORTANT development for ALL UK SIKHS:

http://www.sikhsangat.org/ssn/publish/Engl..._On_India.shtml

MPs Table Motion In UK Parliament In Support Of Paramjit Singh, Urge UK Government To Increase Pressure On India

In the last few weeks it is estimated postcards calling for the release of three innocent Sikhs - Paramjit Singh, Amolak Singh and Jasvinder Singh - have been sent to around 500 different MPs from Sikhs in constituencies throughout the UK.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been sending standard responses to MPs to pass to Sikh constituents. Many Sikhs have commented the FCO responses have proved frustrating and the UK Government could be doing much more.

The Sikh Federation (UK) last week drafted an Early Day Motion (EDM) to be tabled in support of Paramjit Singh to allow MPs to publicly demonstrate they would like the UK Government to exert pressure on the Indian authorities.

EDM 870 titled 'Arrest and detention of Paramjit Singh in the Punjab' has now been tabled by Paramjit Singh's MP Ken Purchase. The motion recognises many representations have been made to the Foreign Secretary on behalf of British Sikhs, expresses dismay at the continuing detention of Paramjit Singh and the second postponement of his trial. It condemns the Punjab police for delaying access by the British High Commission to Paramjit Singh amid concerns for his safety and calls on the UK Government to increase its efforts to ensure an expeditious and fair trial. The motion which is being supported by the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs further calls on the UK Government to take steps to ensure Paramjit Singh's health and welfare is not compromised by ill-treatment while he is in custody.

Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) said: "We realise over 500 UK MPs have been contacted by British Sikhs and made aware of the case of the three innocent Sikhs. The motion that has been tabled in the UK Parliament allows Sikhs to encourage UK MPs to support the motion and increase pressure on the Foreign Secretary to do much more on behalf of Paramjit Singh's family. In the next week we urge Sikhs through the UK to contact MPs and urge them to sign EDM 870 to demonstrate support for Paramjit Singh and his family"

"Paramjit Singh's trial was adjourned until 20 February and we have taken note of the judge saying he would quash the charges if the police once again failed to turn up at the court. Initially the police tortured the three innocent Sikhs to try and secure confessional statements. They then tried to fabricate evidence, but were exposed and now almost two months after their arrest do not even bother to turn up to court, presumably as they have no evidence against the three Sikhs."

Gurjeet Singh

National Press Secretary

Sikh Federation (UK)

Note 1 - EDM 870 - ARREST AND DETENTION OF PARAMJIT SINGH IN THE PUNJAB

That this House notes the many representations to the Foreign Secretary made by British Sikhs on behalf of Paramjit Singh, a British citizen; is dismayed by the continuing detention of Paramjit and the second postponement of his trial; condemns the Punjab police for delaying access by the British High Commission to Paramjit amid the concerns of his family for his safety; calls on the Government to increase its efforts to ensure an expeditious and fair trial; and in the meantime, further calls on the Government to take steps to ensure Paramjit's health and welfare is not compromised by ill-treatment while he is in custody.

So the procedure is:

1 - Go to www.WriteToThem.com and type in your postcode to get your list of MEP's and your MP.

2 - Copy the following:

Dear …. (Insert MP's/MEP's name)

Re: Panjab Singh also known as Paramjeet Singh Dhadhi British National – resident of Wolverhampton

I write to express my concerns in relation to the arrest and detention of the above named in Punjab, India. Mr Singh is a British subject and was arrested along with two Indian Nationals, Mr Amolak Singh and Mr Jaswinder Singh on 23 December 2006, by Punjab Police. Mr Singh and his co-accused were arrested on charges of alleged terrorism and were accused of seeking to cause unrest in the Punjab.

Having followed media footage and knowing of Mr Singh who is a Sikh Preacher, it is clear that Mr Singh is not a 'terrorist'. He was simply enjoying a vacation, together with his wife, granddaughter (aged 3) and family and friends. Mr Singh was due to return to the United Kingdom on 27 December 2006.

The three Sikhs have been arrested under mysterious circumstances and the police story has many gaps and variations which indicate that the situation has been fabricated. There are many loopholes in the evidence and assertions of the police in this matter, which will be exposed in the defence cases of the accused.

Paramjit Singh's trial was adjourned until 20 February and the judge stated he would quash the charges if the police once again failed to turn up at the court. Initially the police tortured the three innocent Sikhs to try and secure confessional statements. They then tried to fabricate evidence, but were exposed and now almost two months after their arrest do not even bother to turn up to court, presumably as they have no evidence against the three Sikhs.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) response has been frustrating and I feel the UK Government should be doing much more. An Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled in support of Paramjit Singh to allow MPs to publicly demonstrate they would like the UK Government to exert pressure on the Indian authorities.

EDM 870 titled 'Arrest and detention of Paramjit Singh in the Punjab' has now been tabled by Paramjit Singh's MP Ken Purchase. The motion recognises many representations have been made to the Foreign Secretary on behalf of British Sikhs, expresses dismay at the continuing detention of Paramjit Singh and the second postponement of his trial. It condemns the Punjab police for delaying access by the British High Commission to Paramjit Singh amid concerns for his safety and calls on the UK Government to increase its efforts to ensure an expeditious and fair trial. The motion which is being supported by the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs further calls on the UK Government to take steps to ensure Paramjit Singh's health and welfare is not compromised by ill-treatment while he is in custody.

I write to request that you sign EDM 870 to demonstrate support to Paramjit Singh and his family at this difficult time.

I thank you in anticipation of your co-operation in this matter.

Yours truly,

3 - Click on your MP, fill in the details and paste the above letter into the box where you can send a message to your MP (editing the letter slightly by inserting your MP's name at the top and your own name at the bottom).

[Sarbloh]

Done it. Need to do this today as many MPs will be on holiday next week due to the school half term holidays

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Done it. Need to do this today as many MPs will be on holiday next week due to the school half term holidays

8 MPs that signed Early Day Motion 870 before the half term break:

1. Ken Purchase MP (Labour) - Wolverhampton North East

2. Rob Marris MP (Labour) - Wolverhampton South West

3. Peter Bottomley (Conservative) - Worthing West

4. Nigel Evans (Conservative) - Ribble Valley

5. Martin Caton (Labour) - Gower

6. Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrats) - Portsmouth South

7. Lynne Jones (Labour) - Birmingham Selly Oak

8. Neil Gerrard (Labour) - Walthamstow

EDM 870 - ARREST AND DETENTION OF PARAMJIT SINGH IN THE PUNJAB

That this House notes the many representations to the Foreign Secretary made by British Sikhs on behalf of Paramjit Singh, a British citizen; is dismayed by the continuing detention of Paramjit and the second postponement of his trial; condemns the Punjab police for delaying access by the British High Commission to Paramjit amid the concerns of his family for his safety; calls on the Government to increase its efforts to ensure an expeditious and fair trial; and in the meantime, further calls on the Government to take steps to ensure Paramjit's health and welfare is not compromised by ill-treatment while he is in custody.

[kuljeet]

HOW DO YOU CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MP NOW?

[sikhlionz]

HOW DO YOU CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MP NOW?

Exactly the same way. Half term just means MPs will sign when they get back on 19 February.

So the procedure is:

1 - Go to www.WriteToThem.com and type in your postcode to get your list of MEP's and your MP.

2 - Copy the following:

Dear …. (Insert MP's/MEP's name)

Re: Panjab Singh also known as Paramjeet Singh Dhadhi British National – resident of Wolverhampton

I write to express my concerns in relation to the arrest and detention of the above named in Punjab, India. Mr Singh is a British subject and was arrested along with two Indian Nationals, Mr Amolak Singh and Mr Jaswinder Singh on 23 December 2006, by Punjab Police. Mr Singh and his co-accused were arrested on charges of alleged terrorism and were accused of seeking to cause unrest in the Punjab.

Having followed media footage and knowing of Mr Singh who is a Sikh Preacher, it is clear that Mr Singh is not a 'terrorist'. He was simply enjoying a vacation, together with his wife, granddaughter (aged 3) and family and friends. Mr Singh was due to return to the United Kingdom on 27 December 2006.

The three Sikhs have been arrested under mysterious circumstances and the police story has many gaps and variations which indicate that the situation has been fabricated. There are many loopholes in the evidence and assertions of the police in this matter, which will be exposed in the defence cases of the accused.

Paramjit Singh's trial was adjourned until 20 February and the judge stated he would quash the charges if the police once again failed to turn up at the court. Initially the police tortured the three innocent Sikhs to try and secure confessional statements. They then tried to fabricate evidence, but were exposed and now almost two months after their arrest do not even bother to turn up to court, presumably as they have no evidence against the three Sikhs.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) response has been frustrating and I feel the UK Government should be doing much more. An Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled in support of Paramjit Singh to allow MPs to publicly demonstrate they would like the UK Government to exert pressure on the Indian authorities.

EDM 870 titled 'Arrest and detention of Paramjit Singh in the Punjab' has now been tabled by Paramjit Singh's MP Ken Purchase. The motion recognises many representations have been made to the Foreign Secretary on behalf of British Sikhs, expresses dismay at the continuing detention of Paramjit Singh and the second postponement of his trial. It condemns the Punjab police for delaying access by the British High Commission to Paramjit Singh amid concerns for his safety and calls on the UK Government to increase its efforts to ensure an expeditious and fair trial. The motion which is being supported by the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs further calls on the UK Government to take steps to ensure Paramjit Singh's health and welfare is not compromised by ill-treatment while he is in custody.

I write to request that you sign EDM 870 to demonstrate support to Paramjit Singh and his family at this difficult time.

I thank you in anticipation of your co-operation in this matter.

Yours truly,

3 - Click on your MP, fill in the details and paste the above letter into the box where you can send a message to your MP (editing the letter slightly by inserting your MP's name at the top and your own name at the bottom).

So do the above or you can send the MPs letters, fax on line, emails or telephone !!

[darminder]

One question, on the website it says:

Use your own words (new window). MPs will ignore copied and pasted 'identikit' messages.

So does that mean your template letter will be accepted?

[sikhlionz]

letters are usually still accepted although you're right in saying we should individualise or customise the wording of the email/fax/letter as much as possible. :TH:

[papoo]

letters are usually still accepted although you're right in saying we should individualise or customise the wording of the email/fax/letter as much as possible. :TH:

can anyone please post an alternative letter then please.

[sikhlionz]

here's an alternative letter. feel free to personalise it more as i was a little tired when writing this lol

Dear …. (Insert MP's/MEP's name)

Re: British National detained in Punjab. Paramjit Singh Dhadhi of Wolverhampton.

In India, Punjab Police Ropar arrested a British national Mr. Panjab Singh alias Mr. Parmjeet Singh Dhadi on December 23, 2006 while he was on his way back from attending a function. Two other persons Mr. Amolak Singh and Mr. Jasvinder Singh were also arrested by the Jalandhar Police.

Mr. Dhadi alleged that he has been beaten by sticks, made to stand out in the open naked in the cold winter night, his legs stretched and his articles of faith removed in order to make him sign the confessional statement. The three above mentioned persons have been arrested under mysterious circumstances and the police story has many gaps and variations that nail the lie to the police version. The place of their arrest and the searches by the police, have not been witnessed by anyone. In fact when some journalists went to Mr. Dhadi’s village (Gakhal) and asked people if the police had made any searches in the fields of Mr. Dhadi where the police had alleged the explosives were found, not a single villager had seen any police activity around the place and one Satwant Kaur who attends to Paramjit’s land confirmed she worked all day in his fields and no police had come. Another discrepancy is initially police alleged that they had found RDX (explosives) in Paramjit’s car and then later changed their statement saying they found it at his village in Gakhal at 2:30pm next to his well under a ‘cop’, a hay storage. The police now in its efforts to cover up their tracks had dug up the land around Mr. Dhadi’s well in order to prove the RDX was in fact found there but various journalists who had visited village Gakhal a day after the arrest had already mentioned that no land had been dug up around the area.

Paramjit Singh Dhadi is a British national and he was falsely accused, arrested and mistreated in the past also and exonerated by the courts. The case has many loopholes as has been pointed out by the defense lawyer as well as the procedure adopted in their arrest reveals the nefarious designs of the administration still bent upon labeling Sikhs as terrorists and torturing them. Lawyers for Human Rights International, Khalsa Human Rights, Voices For Freedom and many other human rights groups have criticised his torture and ongoing mistreatment.

With this in mind, I am contacting as I know Mr Singh as a Sikh singer and it is very obvious that he is innocent. Far from being a terrorist, he was simply making a routine trip to see family in India and was going to come home to the U.K. on the 27th of December 2006. He was accompanied by his 3 year old grand-daughter as well as his wife and other members of family and friends.

In the trial of Paramjeet Singh Dhadi the judge stated he would quash the charges if the police once again failed to turn up at the court and adjourned until 20 February. The Punjab police, who have a well proven history of consistent human rights abuses, tried to get confessional statements by torturing the innocent three Sikhs. They have been exposed for attempting to fabricate evidence, and months after their arrest do not turn up to court, as they have no evidence against the Sikhs.

I am not satisfied with the inadequate response from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and I feel the UK Government should be doing a lot more. The Sikh Federation (UK) has worked with others to table an Early Day Motion (EDM) in support of Paramjit Singh allowing Members of Parliament to demonstrate they would like the UK Government to exert pressure on the Indian authorities. The motion recognises representations have continued to be made to the Foreign Secretary on behalf of British Sikhs, expresses dismay at the continuing detention of Paramjit Singh and the second postponement of his trial. It condemns the Punjab police for delaying access by the British High Commission to Paramjit Singh amid concerns for his safety and calls on the UK Government to increase its efforts to ensure an expeditious and fair trial. The motion which is being supported by the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs further calls on the UK Government to take steps to ensure Paramjit Singh's health and welfare is not compromised by ill-treatment while he is in custody.

I write to request that you sign EDM 870 titled 'Arrest and detention of Paramjit Singh in the Punjab' has now been tabled by Paramjit Singh's MP Ken Purchase to demonstrate support.

Thanking you in advance

Yours sincerely,