Reyat had 'powerful motive' to lie at Air India trial: Prosecutor

Air India bomber Inderjit Singh Reyat had a “powerful motive” to lie during the trial of the Air India accused, a prosecutor said in final arguments Wednesday.
Reyat has pleaded not guilty to one count of perjury arising from his testimony in September 2003 at the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, both of whom were later acquitted.
At Reyat’s perjury trial, the Crown filed an agreed statement of facts, replayed for a jury the entire three-day testimony of Reyat and called no witnesses.
Special prosecutor Len Doust told a B.C. Supreme Court jury in Vancouver that it was clear Reyat lacked credibility and did not tell all he knew about the conspiracy that led to the June 1985 bombings that claimed 331 lives.
Doust argued Reyat’s demeanour was evasive and that many times, he failed to answer the questions put to him.
“He obviously tried to tell as little as possible and he hid behind an alleged lack of recall,” said Doust.
“He often, as I’m sure you’ll recall, paused for lengthy periods of time, the Crown says, not to try to recall, but rather to fashion deceptive and misleading answers when he was cornered.”
Doust noted that six months before the Air India trial, Reyat pleaded guilty to helping supply the material for the bomb that blew up aboard Air India Flight 182, killing 329 passengers and crew.
He said the guilty plea was based on an affidavit outlining Reyat’s version of events, and that he was keen not to stray from the affidavit during his testimony at the Air India trial.
15/09/10 Keith Fraser/The Province

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Categories: Air India - International Sep 2010, Foreign Sep 2010, NACIL Sep 2010, Safety Sep 2010