Sikh Groups Mobilise Masses To Oppose Bhullar’s death penalty

Thursday, 11/08/2011

http://www.punjabstarnews.com/NRI-News/Page-2.htm

Thousands of Sikhs and members of other communities attended a justice rally in front of United Nation Headquarters in New York City to demand the U.N. intervention to stop India from executing Devenderpal S. Bhullar.

According to Sikhs for Justice, “Bhullar is son of a U.S. citizen, Opkar Kaur. In 1991, Kaur’s husband Balwant Singh (Professor Bhullar’s father) was tortured to death by the Indian Police.”

Organizers of the rally launched a Petition Signing Campaign in which a million signatures will be collected from around world on a petition urging UN intervention.

A memorandum was submitted to the UN Secretary General demanding UN intervention pursuant to Resolution 62-149 of 2008 calling for abolition and moratorium on the use of death penalty.

The resolution calls upon all states that maintain the death penalty to completely abolish it reminding that the use of the death penalty001 undermines human dignity and any miscarriage or failure of justice in the implementation of the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable.

According to attorney Gurpatwant S. Pannun legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice Professor Bhullar has been convicted on the sole basis of a confessional statement obtained from him through torture. It is a matter of record that India is not a signatory to UN Convention Against Torture and India practices torture on detainees.

Equating Bhullar’s case with the cases of Mumia Abu Jamal and Troy Davis, Lawrence Hayes, former death row inmate, Co-Founder of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and member of Hands Off Cain (HOC), stated that “India is using its legal and judicial system as means of legitimizing the elimination of any form of opposition. That is to say anyone or anything that poses a threat to the system is labeled terrorist and their rights are ignored or compromised”.

Jeffrey Deskovic, founder of The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice which also addressed the rally. Jeffrey Deskovic was a victim of coerced confession and spent more than sixteen years behind bars before being exonerated based on DNA testing.

Highlighting the parallels in his own case and that of Professor Bhullar, Deskovic stated that “The similarities in my case and Professor Bhullar’s case are revealing. My conviction was based upon a “coerced confession” while Bhullar was tortured to sign blank papers that used to fabricate his confession. There was no independent evidence against me and so is the case with Professor Bhullar. I spent sixteen years behind bars as an innocent man and so is Professor Bhullar who is detained for past sixteen years.”

Urging the UN to ask the Indian Government for commutation of Bhullar’s sentence and release from custody, Mr. Deskovic stated that “the world will be watching to see whether the UN does the right thing and intervenes, or whether it will look the other way thus rendering themselves as guilty as the government of India, just as the entire court system declined to intervene on my behalf despite compelling reasons to do so.

Addressing the rally, Tejinderpal Singh Bhullar brother of Professor Bhullar stated that my brother is an innocent man. He was falsely implicated in criminal cases because he was very vocal in organizing rallies to condemn extra judicial killing of Sikhs in Punjab.

Tejinderpal also stated that “first my father Balwant Singh Bhullar was killed “extra judicially” in India by police and now my brother Professor Bhullar is being murdered through “judicial process”. There is no difference in my father and my brother’s case as they are both innocent victims of Indian state.

Gurdev Singh Kang, President Gurudwara Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill, NY stated that “we want to expose the façade and pseudo democracy of India before the world community by showing them how India has been treating Sikhs and other religious minorities. Look at the case of Kashmir where innocent people are being killed by the Indian authorities only because they demand rights”.