Here is Kimmy Bolan's take on this. I do wonder if a kirpan is considered a 'prohibited device.' I have included some comments - unedited by me - at the bottom, just togive some perspective on the opinions of people in 'our home and native land.' And I intensely dislike this picture of him. I need to see him standing upright and strong.
Reyat's bail conditions finally released
Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, July 11, 2008METRO VANCOUVER - RCMP bomb-sniffing dogs will be allowed to search the Surrey home of convicted terrorist Inderjit Singh Reyat every week "to ensure compliance with the firearms and explosives prohibition" in his bail conditions, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled.
Reyat, the only man convicted in the 1985 Air India bombing, will not be allowed to possess "any firearm, crossbow, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition, or explosive substance" as part of the extraordinary conditions that allowed him to be freed Thursday while awaiting a perjury trial.
The appeal court summoned media lawyers to a special session Friday afternoon to release both Reyat's conditions and the court's reasons for allowing the bomb-maker out on bail, reversing a March ruling by B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm denying him bail.
View Larger ImageSince the surprise ruling Wednesday, a veil of secrecy had surrounded the proceeding, which upset family members of the 329 victims of the Air India bombing.
Appeal Court Justice Risa Levine read a brief statement saying that she was releasing the decision of her colleague Justice Anne Rowles to maintain the judiciary's "principle of openness."
As The Vancouver Sun first reported, Reyat had to raise sureties worth $500,000 in order to secure his bail and reside at his wife's rented home at 13114 73A Ave. in Surrey.
He will be under virtual house arrest, though allowed to work, go to appointments and attend "one place of religious observance, as approved in advance by his bail supervisor."
The 56-year-old double bomber must also "present himself at the door of his residence for any bail supervisor or police officer who attends for the purpose of confirming his compliance with these terms."
Despite the fact that Attorney-General Wally Oppal earlier called the conditions "extremely strict," there is no curfew, electronic monitor or ban on associating with others in the Sikh separatist movement that motivated the June 1985 plot to bomb two Air India flights.
There is also no restriction on meeting Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, the two men acquitted after Reyat allegedly lied 27 times at their trial.
In her 32-page ruling, Rowles said Dohm was wrong to deny Reyat bail on the grounds that his "detention was necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice."
Dohm ruled in March that "the Crown has a strong case" against Reyat and that the circumstances of the case are extraordinary.
But Rowles said Dohm was incorrectly conflating "the offence of perjury with the offence of conspiracy to commit murder."
"It is clear from his reasons, however, that the exceptional or extraordinary circumstances on which he relied in denying bail was the purported link between the testimony alleged to be perjured and what he referred to as the Air India offence," Rowles said.
Rowles quoted from a prison report last February that said Reyat was a low risk to reoffend while out on bail.
"It also seems significant to me that there is no indication in the material of his engaging in any violent or aggressive behaviour towards others while he has been in prison," Rowles said.
Rowles acknowledged that Reyat was a well-regarded Vancouver Island electrician when he got involved in the political struggle for Khalistan in the mid-1980s and felt the need to retaliate against the Indian government after its raid on the Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest shrine.
"It is clear that he had sympathy for acts of violence in a political cause in India and was prepared to aid others in that cause by procuring components for explosive devices," she said. "If Mr. Reyat continues to harbour the same sympathies he had in 1985, he could present a risk to public safety."
But she said that risk could be managed by the 14 conditions imposed.
Until this week, Reyat had been in jail for more than 20 years, at first fighting his extradition from England, where he had fled after being identified as a suspect in both the Air India bombing and the same-day blast at Tokyo's Narita Airport.
He was convicted in 1991 of making the Narita bomb, which was destined for a second Air India flight when it exploded prematurely and killed two baggage handlers. Reyat was then charged in 2001 in the Air India blast and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, getting another five years.
He was then called as a Crown witness against Malik and Bagri and is accused of lying 27 times during his testimony. If convicted again, he faces a maximum sentence of 14 years.
© Vancouver Sun
COMMENTS
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WHY TRY TO FIT IN?
YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!
