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Britain refuses to deport two Sikh terrorists

A British tribunal has ruled that two Sikhs, suspected of organising arms and explosives shipments, should not be deported because of fears they would be tortured if they returned to India.

The Special Immigration Tribunal said Mukhtiar Singh, 27 and Paramjit Singh, 26, should be allowed to remain in Britain even though they were suspected of shipping 15kg of explosives to India.

There were "substantial grounds" for believing they would be tortured if they returned, the tribunal said.

The British Government has indicated that it may appeal to the high court against the tribunal ruling. "We're considering our options in light of the decision," a Home Office spokesman said.

The two men entered Britain illegally between 1994 and 1996 and were arrested in November '99 by British police. The government argued they were a "danger to national security" as they were helping to orchestrate terrorist attacks in India.

Both men are linked to the International Sikh Youth Federation which supports the Khalistan Commando Force.

The tribunal said it was uncomfortable about the ruling, but had no options because of fears about torture.

"There are serious reasons for considering that each had been engaged in terrorist activity and should not therefore be granted protection under the Refugee Convention. Law abiding citizens of the United Kingdom might reasonably feel disquiet about a state of affairs which permits international terrorists proved to be a danger to national security to stay here," it said.

The Home Office has been able to overturn an earlier ruling by the Immigration Tribunal in the case of a Muslim preacher Shafiq-ur-Rehman, suspected of being a behind-the-scenes recruitment agent and fund-raiser for Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, the Kashmiri terrorist organisation.

The Immigration Tribunal's ruling that Rehman should not be deported to Pakistan had been overturned by the high court and it has now gone to the House of Lords.

During the appeal by Paramjit Singh and Mukhtiar Singh, a Home Office witness was asked, at one stage, whether he would have taken action against Nelson Mandela's African National Congress as it was listed as a terrorist organisation.

The Special Immigration Tribunal was set up last year to bring Britain in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.

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