Switzerland, Geneva (April 27, 2013):
Seeking United Nations intervention to save death row inmate Devenderpal
Singh Bhullar, a Swiss NGO “Movement Against Atrocities and Repression”
(MAAR) and Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ) an international human rights
group, filed an appeal with Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary
or Arbitrary Executions, Honorable Christof Heyns on April 25.
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| Switzerland Protest against suspected execution of Sikh political prisoner in India (April 25, 2013) |
Hundreds of Sikhs who converged Geneva
from Itlay, Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, Holland, UK and
Switzerland held a ‘Justice Rally” before UN Office seeking intervention
for suspension of Bhullar’s death sentence.
To show solidarity with Prof. Bhullar,
the European Sikh community and Sikh organizations also unanimously
passed the resolution and decided to support the global campaign to
“Boycott Air India”.
Justifying
the support to ‘Boycott Air India” globally, Harminder Singh Khalsa, a
spokesperson of MAAR, stated that the economic loss to Air India as
result of Sikh community’s boycott of the airline will be a wakeup call
for a system that is biased against Sikhs. Harminder Singh Khalsa, who
now lives in Switzerland, is accused and convicted of high jacking of
Indian Airlines flight from Srinagar to Lahore on July 5, 1984.
On April 14, Sikh rights group (SFJ)
gave a call to globally “Boycott Air India” resulting in continuous
cancellation of Air India flights from Toronto, Canada. The SFJ legal
advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, urged the Sikh community to stop
financially supporting a “System of Governance” which kills innocent
Sikhs, subjects them to genocidal attacks and completely denies justice.
The appeal to UN states that Bhullar’s
case warrants “immediate intervention” because after the denial of his
recent appeal by the Supreme Court, his execution is imminent. The
appeal submitted to Honorable Christof Heyns urges to (a) send a “fact
finding” mission to India to investigate the torture perpetrated on
Bhullar which resulted in “dubious confession” and his conviction and
(b) ask Government of India to respect Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and suspend Bhullar’s death sentence.
A delegation of European human rights
activists met Mr. Sharof Azizov, a key member of Rapporteur’s team and
urged to form a special commission and send a “fact finding” mission to
investigate and save Devenderpal Singh Bhullar who is facing imminent
“execution” in India.
Mr. Azizov the spokesperson for Special
Rapporteur, while assuring the Sikh community of UN intervention in
Bhullar’s matter asked the delegation to submit the details of torture
used against Bhullar to extract confession; extradition judicial killing
of Bhullar’s family members and details of other death row inmates in
India if they were convicted under TADA.
According to Master Karnail Singh
founder President of Sikh Foundation, Switzerland, Bhullar’s conviction
and planned execution, violates fundamental principles of justice, and
his continuous detention for the past sixteen years violates the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and shocks human dignity.
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