' Beadbi' Of Guru-Saroops Inside Austrian Jail Authority

[WaljinderSingh]

On 22 January, the Austrian jail authority, accompanied by sniffer dogs, raided the belongings of five Sikhs while they were away from their cells. They showed great disregard for the sacred gutka's (prayer books) and other religious literature. All their belongings were left in a real state of disarray.

You may recall that Hardeep Singh, Tarsem Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Jaspal Singh and Surjit Singh all received 17 year prison sentences in 2009, for the murder of Ramanand in Vienna. Ramanand, a controversial figure, disrespected the Guru Granth Sahib and committed 'beadbi' of the saroop. Hardeep Singh has begun a hungerstrike by way of a protest at the harsh treatment they have received.

SOPW will be taking up this case with the various authorities and organisations throughout UK and Europe. We are concerned for the Singhs well being whilst in prison and want to ensure that their civil rights are protected.

We support Bhai Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa

[WaljinderSingh]

Bhai Hardeep Singh of the Vienna 5 Ends his Hunger Strike and
It’s all thanks to YOU - the SOPW Sangat!

SOPW were informed last week that Bhai Hardeep Singh; one of the five Gursikh currently serving life sentences in Austria for the assassination of a controversial sect preacher had been on hunger strike due to human and religious rights violations by the Austrian authorities. One of our SOPW representatives flew out to Vienna the day after we were informed of Bhai Hardeep Singhs hunger strike to obtain a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding this case and to offer our support to him. Thanks to your support in raising awareness, the Austrian authorities acted swiftly and Bhai Hardeep Singhs demands have been taken up by the authorities and some changes have already been implemented and as a result Bhai Hardeep Singh has ended his hunger strike.

Bhai Hardeep Singh’s first demand was that if and when the cells of Gursikh prisoners are searched the correct protocol is followed to avoid the liklehood of a repeat of an incident that took place a fortnight ago where Gutke belonging to the Gursikhs were thrown to the ground and trampled over by jail officers and their sniffer dogs. The Prison authorities have now arranged for a permanent sign to be displayed outside of the cell of the Gursikhs reminding the jail authorities of the procedures that need to be followed if and when a search becomes necessary.

Bhai Hardeep Singh’s second demand was that Bhai Jaspal Singh, another of the Vienna 5 who suffered serious injuries at the time of the assassination of the preacher is provided the urgent medical intervention that he requires. It should be noted Bhai Jaspal Singh has a fractured skull with an inch wide hole which could potentially prove fatal, this injury has seriously affected both his mental and physical well being and these injuries have remained untreated since his arrest over four years ago. The jail authorities have assured Bhai Hardeep Singh that they will carry out an urgent medical assessment of Bhai Jaspal Singh and have agreed that a private doctor can also conduct an independent medical assessment and provide the necessary recommendations to the authorities.

Bhai Hardeep Singh’s final demand was that the Vienna 5 all felt that they had not received a fair trial so the case needed to be reopened. SOPW along with the local Sangat supporting these Sikhs in Vienna have assured Bhai Hardeep Singh that we will utilise all our contacts and resources to seek a speedy retrial. Bhai Hardeep Singh felt confident that this matter is now being taken seriously and we have assured him that with the continued support from the Sangat we will work as fast as we can in this matter.
A bonus that we were not expecting is that the jail authorities have even taken Bhai Jaspal Singh out of solitary confinement where he was previously placed and have arranged for Bhai Hardeep Singh, Bhai Jaspal Singh and Bhai Sukhjeet Singh who are all held in the same prison to now share a cell together.

SOPW, Bhai Hardeep Singh, his fellow Sikh inmates and their supporters in Vienna would like to convey a huge and heartfelt thankyou to the SOPW Sangat for helping to raise awareness. It is due to your support that the lives of these Gursikhs have been made so much more tolerable. SOPW will of course continue to bring you news of any further developments in this case.

Sikh Organisation For Prisoners Welfare (SOPW)

[WaljinderSingh]

Vienna 5 - Update
Great news just in from our contact in Vienna...
You may recall we recently reported on the case of the Vienna 5, that is the five Gursikh who are each serving life imprisonments in Austria for the elimination of sect preacher Rama Nand due to his alleged acts of blasphemy against Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
All the Gursikh involved in this case were seriously injured by mobs of vigilantes enraged at the shooting of their leader when the incident occurred. Most seriously injured was Bhai Jaspal Singh who spent many months in hospital in a medically induced coma.
Last month we reported that Bhai Hardeep Singh had taken to hunger strike and one of his conditions were that Bhai Jaspal Singh is provided with the necessary medical attention as his untreated injuries could potentially prove fatal.
Thanks to the huge response by SOPW volunteers and our associates this case was given significant media coverage and was covered by Sikh Channel and very newspaper outlets.
As a result of the Sangat's pressure the jail authorities ordered a senior doctor referral which has taken place in the last few days.
Our contact in Vienna called us this evening to confirm the prison doctor has now prepared his medical report and he will now be forwarding it to the specialist hospital unit so that the hospital doctors can take over the care plan for treating Bhai Jaspal Singh.

[sweetshera]

No sympathy i'm afraid, can't do the time don't do the crime!

[acsap]

No sympathy i'm afraid, can't do the time don't do the crime!

No body is asking for your sympathy.

[S4NGH]

No sympathy i'm afraid, can't do the time don't do the crime!

Whos asking for it?

Clearly, they can do the time.

[dashmesh1984]

Salute these brave Singhs

[JasSinghKhalsa]

No sympathy i'm afraid, can't do the time don't do the crime!

Murda bolu kafan paadu