Convicted Air India bomber will plead guilty to perjury

Vancouver: Convicted bombmaker Inderjit Singh Reyat plans to plead guilty to perjury for lying at the Air India trial of two other men acquitted in the June 23, 1985, bombing, victims' family members have been told.
Relatives of those who died in the terrorist attack were contacted Tuesday by the RCMP and Air India prosecutors to tell them about Reyat's change of plea.
Several family members confirmed to Canwest News Service that they had received the news, but were asked not to comment on it until the plea is formally entered.
Reyat had been set to go to trial for perjury Feb. 4, but will appear in court next week instead to enter the new plea, the families were told. Reyat's decision to change his plea is not part of any agreement for a lower sentence, the RCMP and Crown stressed to the relatives, who were outraged at a report earlier this month that Reyat had been offered a "plea bargain."
The maximum penalty for perjury is 14 years, but few people are ever sentenced to anything near that length.
Reyat, who is now 55, remains at Matsqui Institution where he has been serving the remaining days of a five-year sentence handed to him in February 2003 when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for playing a small role in the bombing plot. The sentence expires Feb. 9, meaning Reyat would walk free.
Kim Bolan/Vancouver Sun; Canwest News Service/Edmonton Journal, Canada

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Categories: Air India - International Jan 2008, Foreign Jan 2008, NACIL Jan 2008, Safety Jan 2008