TerrorismNevada trial of Sikh terrorist postponed by two years to clarify FISA-related issues
Balwinder Singh, 39, who received asylum in the United States in 1997, was indicted as a member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF). Both groups use bombings, kidnappings, and murders in a campaign to establish an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India, to be called Khalistan. U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks agreed with the prosecution and defense that the trial should be postponed from February 2014 to February 2016 so that issues related to FISA-authorized NSA surveillance of Singh could be clarified. Judge Hicks said that “the ends of justice served by this continuance outweighs the defendant’s and public’s best interests in a speedy trial.”
Last Tuesday U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks granted a request by federal public defender Rene Valladares and Nevada U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden to move the trial of Balwinder Singh, 39, from February 2014 to February 2016. Singh is accused of supporting terrorist groups in India and Pakistan.
According to the January 2014 proposed schedule filed in a U.S. District Court in Reno, Nevada, the two sides claim the charges against Singh were too complex for the 11 February 2014 trial. “The case is unusual and complex based on the nature of the prosecution and the fact that the government intends to use evidence derived from electronic surveillance and physical searches conducted pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA),” the document said.
FISA requests are reviewed by an eleven-member Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The court can authorize wiretaps and other surveillance measures against people believed to be involved in espionage or terrorism.
Reno Gazette-Journal reports that upon granting the request, Judge Hicks said that “the ends of justice served by this continuance outweighs the defendant’s and public’s best interests in a speedy trial … that the continuance is necessary because the failure to grant this continuance would deny counsel for the Defendant the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.” He added that “the failure to grant the continuance requested would result in a miscarriage of justice …”
In December 2013 a federal grand jury indicted Singh on six charges, including conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim people in a foreign country, conspiracy to support terrorists, and immigration fraud. U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Cooke said Singh was a flight risk and a danger to public safety, ordering that he should be detained until his trial.
The indictment claims Singh is a member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF). Both groups use bombings, kidnappings, and murders in a campaign to establish an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India, to be called Khalistan. According to court records, since 1997 Singh has sent money from Reno to his co-conspirators in India for the purchase of weapons for the BKI and KZF.
Prosecutors plan to introduce about 150 recorded telephone conversations between Singh and others regarding plans to commit acts of terrorism. The two sides will secure an out-of-state Punjabi interpreter to assist with the tapes and documents. Singh fled from India to the United States in 1997 and claimed asylum. In 2012, the leader of BKI in Pakistan allegedly recognized Singh as the leader of BKI in the United States.
