Terror suspect faces extradition after court loss
A Hong Kong resident facing extradition to India on terrorism and other charges lost a legal bid on Friday to walk free from custody. Ramanjit Singh, accused by New Delhi of orchestrating a jailbreak in 2016 and involvement in a string of terrorist attacks and political killings, had filed a writ of habeus corpus at the High Court arguing that he should be set free, or have a lower court reconsider its decision to approve his extradition. His lawyers had argued that he will likely be tortured if brought back to India, and that the lower court had erred in its judgement. However, Justice Russell Coleman dismissed the habeas corpus application, saying he does not think Singh's political views would lead him to be treated unfairly should he return to India. "On the balance of probabilities, I do not think it has been shown that at the time of the [Indian government's] request for the applicant to be surrendered that request was made not for prosecuting the relevant offences but instead for prosecuting the applicant for his race, religion, nationality or political opinions," he said. "Nor do I think the evidence shows any serious possibility that the applicant might, if surrendered, be prejudiced at his trial or punished, detained or restricted in his personal liberty by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions." The judge also noted that the applicant had never complained about being tortured either to doctors or to the magistrate who approved his extradition, and his medical records also showed no external injuries. The extradition of Singh, who is wanted by Interpol, is currently pending approval from the Chief Executive.