Deported hijacker may be returned to Canada
Held In Indian Jail; Former militant had been ruled a public danger
Stewart Bell, National Post Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Parminder Singh Saini in Toronto, May 11, 1998. John Lehmann
Two weeks ago, a private jet chartered by the Canadian government landed at New Delhi airport and was surrounded by an Indian police tactical team waiting to arrest the lone passenger, Parminder Singh Saini.
A former Sikh militant, Mr. Saini had hijacked an Indian airliner in 1984 before making his way to Toronto, where he lived for 15 years until he was deported by the Canada Border Services Agency on Jan. 26.
The deportation was "a victory for the rule of law, the integrity of our immigration system, and the safety and security of Canadians," two federal Cabinet ministers, Vic Toews and Jason Kenney, said in a press release.
But it's not over yet.
Mr. Saini's lawyers are now attempting to reopen his case, alleging that Canadian officials knew he would be arrested once he arrived in India but withheld those details from the courts.
The case goes before the Federal Court of Canada next week and if Mr. Saini is successful, the CBSA could be ordered to "un-deport" him -- to bring him back to Canada.
The appeal is based on a 2007 case involving a schizophrenic Jamaican with an extensive criminal record. The CBSA deported him but was forced to fly him back to Canada after a judge ruled that federal officials had inadvertently misled him. Last fall, the CBSA was similarly forced to return a former Toronto gang member to Toronto three years after he had been deported to Sri Lanka.
A CBSA spokeswoman declined to comment yesterday on whether Mr. Saini might be returned to Canada, saying the agency "does not comment on hypotheticals" but she said the government would defend its actions.
"Mr. Saini did not provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that any harm would come to him and the CBSA received no information to suggest otherwise," said Anna Pape.
Before Mr. Saini was deported, a government official examined whether it was safe to do so and determined that "the Indian government does not plan to arrest and detain Mr. Saini should he be returned to India."
But Mr. Saini argued that India planned to place him in a high-security prison upon his return, and he was right. He is being held under the provisions of India's national security act at the Tihar jail, where his lawyer says he is at risk of abuse and torture.
"The reason of this high security treatment to him in India is due to the manner in which he was brought to India by the Canadian authorities, in a special charter plane," his Indian lawyer, Navkiran Singh, wrote in a letter filed in court. He said it was also due to Canada's ruling that Mr. Saini was a public danger.
Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman wrote in a letter to the Federal Court last week that "it defies credulity to believe that officials in the CBSA and possibly CSIS or other departments were unaware that the government of India was highly interested in Mr. Saini being returned to India and intended to detain him upon arrival."
Mr. Saini was a 21-year-old member of the militant All India Sikh Student Federation when he led a team of hijackers that seized an Air India flight with 264 passengers and crew on board.
The hijackers forced the plane to land in Pakistan and demanded the release of Sikh militants, asylum and $23-million. They threatened to kill their hostages but surrendered after 20 hours. Two passengers and a crew member were injured.
A Pakistani court sentenced Mr. Saini to life but he was released after serving 10 years. He fled to Canada, claiming to be an Afghan named "Balbir Singh," but when Canadian authorities discovered his real identity, they ordered him to leave the country.
While he fought his deportation through the courts, Mr. Saini obtained a law degree from the University of Windsor. In January, the Law Society of Upper Canada ruled him ineligible to practice law because he was not of good character.
"This is just harassment," said Tejinder Singh, Mr. Saini's brother and a Mississauga immigration consultant. "This is what they do with the Sikhs over there."
sbell@nationalpost.com
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