No deal with Air India bomb maker, says Crown

Vancouver: Convicted terrorist Inderjit Singh Reyat has not been offered a deal on an outstanding perjury charge to rat out other members of the Air India bombing conspiracy, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said Friday.
"There is no deal," Mr. Oppal said of reports that Reyat was offered a reduced sentence in the perjury case in exchange for a guilty plea and information about other terrorists.
Reyat is due to go to trial Feb. 4 after prosecutors accused him of lying 27 times when he testified in September 2003 as a Crown witness against two other Air India suspects, who were later acquitted of the June 23, 1985, bombing.
The terrorist attack targeted Air India Flight 182, which exploded while en route from Canada to India, killing all 329 aboard.
Families of the Air India victims said Friday they were disturbed to see news reports that Reyat had been offered a deal of between two and five years in jail if he co-operates with police when the maximum sentence for perjury is 14 years.
"If they have agreed upon a plea bargain, I would be very disappointed," said Susheel Gupta, a lawyer who lost his mother in the Air India bombing.
"In my opinion and that of the many other family members, they should proceed with the trial. He is alleged to have perjured himself in the case of the largest mass murder in Canadian history and as such I feel that it should go to trial."
Len Doust, the special Reyat prosecutor, said the reports of a deal "are dead wrong."
He said he spoke Friday to Reyat defence lawyer Ian Donaldson and both men are upset about the false reports.
"None of what you read with respect to the dealings between the Crown and the defence is accurate, period. None of it," Mr. Doust said in an interview.
Crown spokesman Geoff Gaul said the prosecution and defence always talk in advance of a trial, but that does not mean a bargain is being struck.
04/01/08 Kim Bolan, CanWest News Service/Vancouver Sun/National Post, Canada

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

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