Air India Man Leaves B.c. Prison

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Friday, July 11, 2008 | 2:55 AM

Inderjit Singh Reyat left prison Thursday for the first time in more than 20 years, as relatives of the Air India victims expressed outrage that the only man convicted in the bombing had been granted bail.

Reyat kept silent as he left a Vancouver-area jail around 4:30 p.m. and was led to a waiting car. He later arrived at his family's home where a crowd of reporters waited, but he quietly entered through a back door.

The B.C. Court of Appeal granted Reyat bail on Wednesday as he awaits a perjury trial set for January. He is facing charges for testimony he gave at the 2003 trial of two men who were later acquitted of allegedly taking part in the bombings.

At the time, Reyat had already served two decades in prison -- his entire sentence for two manslaughter convictions. The convictions were related to the Air India bombing that killed 331 people when their plane went down off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985. Another related and nearly simultaneous explosion at Japan's Narita airport killed two airport workers.

Reyat's release has upset the families of Air India victims and B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal, who said he was "disappointed in the release."

Deepak Khandelwal, who lost two sisters in the terrorist bombing, said it was "quite outrageous" Canada's justice system would allow Reyat to be granted bail.

"It's pretty disappointing of what our whole system has been, right from the pre-investigation to the court case," he told CTV Newsnet. "We continue to have failures in the system."

The court has not released many details about the bail decision, according to Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan. But she said sources have told her bail is set at $500,000.

CTV legal analyst Steven Skurka told Canada AM bail conditions may include house arrest.

"Every step he takes will be watched carefully," Skurka said.

Susheel Gupta of the Air India Victims Families Association said Reyat's release raises concerns.

"What does worry me is that as recently as the last parole hearing that was held for Mr. Reyat, those individuals entrusted to determine if he is eligible for parole felt that releasing him would be a risk to the community," he said.

The B.C. Supreme Court had denied bail to Reyat, saying that his detention was necessary to maintain confidence in the justice system.

In June, Reyat's lawyer appealed the ruling.

The Air India bombing is believed to have been plotted by militant extremists in B.C. who were retaliating against the Indian government for a 1984 raid on the Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest shrine.

Air India flight 182, originating from Toronto with a Montreal stopover exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 passengers and crew. Two baggage handlers died at Narita airport when luggage was being transferred on to another Air India flight.

The luggage carrying the explosives was checked in at Vancouver's airport.

With files from The Canadian Press