Supporters oppose paralysed Sikh's deportation

Supporters of a paralysed Sikh refugee claimant, who is facing deportation early next week nearly four years after entering Canada on a fake passport, have sought his release on humanitarian grounds and urged the government to allow him to live in this country.

Laibar Singh, 48, is set to be deported by the Canadian Border Services, which has hired a private jet to take him to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, 'Vancouver Sun' reported on Saturday.

But his supporters - who range from community groups to politicians - said his deportation is akin to a death sentence and called on Immigration Minister Diane Finlay to immediately review his case.

"The community at large is very concerned. If this man is forced to leave Canada, he is facing death, there's no two ways about it," said Surdev Singh Jatana, a member of the Abbotsford Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar temple. "We strongly request the minister to give this man a chance to have a better life here than no life in India."

Singh's supporters rallied in Vancouver on Thursday, with signs at a press conference reading: 'Government ignored Canadian values and Singh's life is in danger.' Other rallies are also planned in Toronto and Montreal.

His supporters in Canada, including Liberal MP Sikh Dhaliwal and Jane Dyson, of the BC Coalition for People with Disabilities, said Singh should be allowed to stay in Canada pending his review of the deportation order on humanitarian grounds.

The supporters, along with Singh's lawyer Zool Suleman, say they have no response to their pleas to government.

First Published: Aug 18, 2007 15:48 IST