Sikh Federation (Uk) Welcomes Amnesty International Stand Against India And Support Of Balwant Singh

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Amnesty International calls on Indian Prime Minister for Balwant Singh's execution to be halted

The execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana must be halted and an official moratorium on capital punishment established in India, Amnesty International said today in an open letter to the country’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh (see attached).

Amnesty International’s Policy Adviser, Bikramjeet Batra, said:

“Resuming executions after an eight year hiatus would place India in opposition to regional and global trends towards abolition of the death penalty.

“We urge Prime Minister Singh to stop the execution of Balwant Singh and establish an official moratorium on executions – and ultimately to abolish the death penalty in India for all crimes.”

A copy of the letter was sent to the President of India, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Governor of Punjab & the administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh and the Chief Minister of Punjab.

Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK), said:

"We promised last week that we hoped to secure the support of Amnesty International.

All letters sent by the Sangat to MPs and MEPs have urged politicians to pressure Amnesty International.

Within 2 weeks the letters sent by the Sangat have made a real difference.

Our ultimate aim is to expose India and bring an end to the death penalty in India."

The Sikh Federation (UK) has this evening been on both Sikh television channels to speak about the Amnesty International letter that has been secured.

Amnesty International letter to PM.pdf

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Please download this letter from Amnesty International and send it to MPs and MEPs.

Continue to urge MPs and MEPs to get their respective governments and member states across Europe to call for India to end the death penalty.

[SinghWarrior]

As shown by SFUK, lobbying of MPs really does work. Good work by SFUK - keep it up!

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Amnesty urges India to halt first execution since 2004

(AFP)–6 hours ago

NEW DELHI — Amnesty International on Tuesday urged India to halt its first scheduled execution for eight years and to impose an official moratorium on any further use of capital punishment.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the human rights watchdog said the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, slated for March 31 in the northern state of Punjab, would be a major step backwards.

Rajoana was sentenced to death in 2007 for his role in the 1995 assassination of the then Punjab chief minister, Beant Singh.

"Resuming executions after an eight year hiatus would place India in opposition to regional and global trends towards abolition of the death penalty," said Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi.

"We urge you to stop the execution of Balwant Singh and establish an official moratorium on executions ... and swiftly abolish the death penalty in India for all crimes," Zarifi wrote in his letter to the prime minister.

If Sunday's hanging goes ahead in Punjab's Patiala Jail, it would be the first execution in India since 2004, when a former security guard was hanged for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

India has hundreds of condemned convicts awaiting execution, including the killers of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab -- the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

A complex and lengthy appeal process means those sentenced to die often sit on death row for many years.

In most cases the death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.

[chatanga]

Good work SF(UK).

[Aman0001]

Good stuff!!

[Gurmat Sangeet]

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!

It is highly important that the sangat signs this petition, we are looking to get 100,000 to get the Government to debate this issue in Parliment....

100,000 SIGNATURES WILL GET THIS ISSUE INTO DEBATE AT PARLIMENT!!!

https://​submissions.epetitions.direct.g​ov.uk/petitions/31519

FACEBOOK IT, TWITTER IT, TEXT IT.... WE NEED THESE SIGNATURES BY THE WEEKEND!!!

SPEAK TO YOUR LOCAL GURDWARA, GET A LAPTOP AND GET EVERYONE AT THE WEEKEND AT THE GURDWARA TO SIGN THIS E PETITION...

PLEASE PLEASE SADH SANGAT JI, IT IS IN OUR HANDS TO GET THIS ISSUE HIGHLIGHTED IN PARLIMENT AND POTENTIALLY SAVE THOUSANDS OF SIKHS IN INDIAN PRISONS.

NOTE: EVERY EPETITION THAT HAS REACHED 100,000 SIGNATURES HAS BEEN DEBATED IN PARLIAMENT...