Dated: July 14, 2022

Ottawa, Canada

This past June,  two innocent and prominent Canadian Sikh men were wrongfully arrested during a peaceful annual rally for the 1984 Genocide Remeberance that led from Parliament Hill to the Supreme Court in Ottawa, Canada. No one has answered about why the Ottawa police arrested and desecrated the articles of faith of the two Sikh men before releasing them without charges.

Despite numerous calls from the Sikh community, MPs and others responsible to maintain order and guarantee freedoms, have not responded and justice has been delayed for over a month.  Yet, this is an abominable act that should alarm all Canadians.

“Since the incident, nothing is normal anymore; work is affected, and no place is safe – neither indoor nor outdoors. Being a Sikh activist, this is a huge concern and it’s increasing every day. Our families are also concerned. They don’t want me to work but I’m helpless as I’m the only bread earner in the family. Due to holidays, the kids are at home, or else they would have been in school. So, the situation could be damaging for them too” said Manveer Singh, who was wrongfully arrested in Ottawa.

To date, there has been no appropriate response from high-level officials who are aware of this transgression against peaceful protestors and no probe to appropriately deal with the perpetrators of the false prosecution of these Canadian citizens.

Last week, UNITED SIKHS and other civil rights NGOs wrote to Canadian MPs. Today, we speak out publicly again to ensure that the Canadian government and the authorities concerned ensure a thorough investigation for at least four significant reasons:

• The malicious prosecution of innocent Canadian citizens has the practical effect of chilling peaceful, civic involvement.

• Sikh rallies, held annually at Parliament Hill to commemorate the 1984 genocide of Sikhs in India that is a global concern; and protestors and concientious citizens should not be silenced.

• Those behind the false accusations must be identified and held to account for wasting public resources and using the force of the State to intimidate citizens.

• Ottawa police clearly breached the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when they arrested an innocent Sikh journalist and Sikh businessman without first properly investigating. Ottawa police forcibly removed their religious articles of faith in violation of these citizens’  civil rights.

The Sikh community requests, and in fact demands, an immediate apology from authorities. We call for the training of law enforcement personnel to ensure that the power of the State is never used against innocent citizens in this callous fashion again.

The act of falsely accusing someone of planting a bomb is not diminimus and was the cause of mass panic, disruption and waste of scarce public resources and tax payers’ dollars and should not be tolerated nor go unprosecuted. At a minimum, there should be a public explanation for the arrest and detention of these two Sikhs.

UNITED SIKHS requests that Canadian MP’s call for an expedited investigation that will finally allay the fear and apprehension caused by this incident in the Sikh and Ottawa community.

We stand prepared to assist in any way necessary to ensure justice prevails.

Manvinder Singh

Advocacy Director

International Civil & Human Rights Adcvocay- ICHRA

Recognize the Human Race as One