7 th December 2015 formal launch of Safer Sikh Partnership took place in the UK Parliament at a special event hosted by Seema Malhotra MP The Safer Sikhs Partnership is a project developed by the Community Safety Sub-Committee of Sikh Council UK in response to calls from both those running Gurdwaras and Sikh organisations and users for an improvement in the levels of awareness and practice in safeguarding and support for vulnerable children and adults.
19 th December 2015 Board of Jathedar Meeting took place at Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara Sahib Leicester to discuss the Modi visit. 18 th December 2015 arrest of Paramjeet Singh Pamma in Portugal campaign liaison with lawyers and SOPW.
Update note sent to members and contact details of Portugal Gurdwara Pardhan were provided to the family for local support
By way of update note sent to members 18th December 2015:
We have been in liaison directly with Paramjeet Singh who is currently in
custody of Immigration in Portugal
We are in close contact with his wife in Portugal
Contact has been made with British Consulate in Portugal
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been alerted with full details
Paramjeet has been provided with details of lawyers for his first court
appearance in the morning
Sikhs For Justice lawyers consisting of Gurpatwant Singh are on their way
from USA to assist with the case.
Relevant MPs have been alerted
We will maintain ongoing communication with Paramjeet and his wife who is
currently with their young children in Portugal.
Further update later in the day
FCO are in liaison with Immigration in Portugal and are now up to speed with
matters for tomorrows court appearance
Just spoke to Gurpatwant Singh (Sikhs for Justice) -he is on-route to Portugal
27th December 2015 update briefing note
UK Resident Granted Asylum now Subject to Extradition Request in a Third Country TO: Members of Parliament, Members of European Parliament, Human Rights & Refugee Organisations
FROM: Secretary General & Head of Political Engagement SUBJECT: Wider Ramifications of the Case of Paramjeet Singh
Summary
* Paramjeet Singh is a long standing resident of the UK since 1999, granted asylum in 2000 due to persecution in India due to his political activities. He resides in the UK with a wife and four young children.
* In 2012 a red ‘wanted’ notice was issued against Paramjeet Singh at the request of the Indian government by Interpol in connection to the murder in India that took place whilst he was in the UK.
* On 18th December 2015, during a Christmas break with his family in Portugal he was arrested from his hotel and is awaiting extradition proceedings to India. He remains in Portuguese custody.
* Paramjeet Singh’s local MP, Rt Hon John Spellar MP, is actively pursuing the case.
* We are contacting you in relation to a wider issue – that the country from which asylum was granted can extend its reach, even years later, to have returned to its shores those who the UK authorities have accepted are in danger if returned there. This questions the veracity of the asylum process and the security of asylum status
for UK and EU residents.
Sikh Council UK requests:
1. MP’s to raise with the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, and the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Theresa May MP, the general principle in relation to asylum whereby an individual granted asylum in the UK should be deported back to the UK to face any extradition request from that same country.
2. MEP’s to raise the case with their counterparts in Portugal and within EU authorities and agencies as a matter of fundamental human rights. The UK has the largest Sikh population of any EU country and there is a responsibility on UK politicians and authorities to address such concerns that otherwise would remain unaddressed.
3. Human Rights and Refugee Organisations to firstly support the campaign against extradition and for Paramjeet Singh to be returned to the UK. Secondly, to lobby politicians, authorities and agencies in the UK, Portugal and the EU in support of the general principle that asylum is a recognition of the danger to that persons safety posed by the state from which asylum is granted and that extradition to that state should be judged by the state granting asylum with the paramount concern being the safety and well-being of the refugee.
Sikh Council UK made several media appearances to support the Pamma Case.
