Iqbal Singh says Canadian media reports untrue
On Monday, News Five broke the story that the first man to be successfully deported under Canada’s anti-terrorism law had been deported, to Belize on January 6th. Iqbal Singh entered Canada in 1991 with no immigration documents whatsoever and later applied for refugee status. But in 1998, he was arrested for being ?a threat? to Canada’s national security. A Canadian court refuted Singh?s claims that he was not associated with the Babbar Khalsa International, a group reputed to be militant Sikh nationalists
seeking to create an independent state in the province of Punjab. The judge decided to deport him home but even though Singh was from India, home turned out to be Belize. Singh had managed to purchase a Belizean passport through the economic citizenship program and is now a Belizean citizen. In Canada Singh consistently denied an involvement with any violent or extremist groups and this afternoon, in a News Five exclusive, Singh reiterated his claim, saying that the Canadian media reports are false.
Janelle Chanona
?There have been a lot of reports in Canadian media¼?
Iqbal Singh
?These all false reports. I have all evidence you come in home; I will show you everything. I have a bunch of papers from United Nations they are supporting me. If I am bad person, why do these people support me? I even, I have papers from…I don’t want to talk, this is not a good place for me. I want you to come home and I show you everything.?
Janelle Chanona
?Basically you are saying that you had no involvement with BK??
Iqbal Singh
?No, No, Not at all. Even I have papers from Canadian, how do you say, cabinet ministers…and MPs (Members of Parliament), they are supporting my contention that everything is wrong going on. It’s all political motivation but I have everything. If you want information, you could to my home and you get everything.?
Janelle Chanona
?So you’re saying, reports are false??
Iqbal Singh
?Nothing. All false reports and I’m fighting my case in Canada and even I want to finish my (amenities??) in Canadian domestic (amenities??). I want to go in the international court and fight these allegations that they are putting in these papers, why they are insulting one person without doing anything wrong in this country.?
Janelle Chanona
?Now, we were told that you bought your passport, your Belizean passport, while you were still in jail. Is that true??
Iqbal Singh
?I don’t want to answer on this question right now. I have my attorney here if you want to talk to him; you could talk to him.?
?Why did you choose Belize??
Iqbal Singh
?Because I like it. This is a nice country, to know this country, good country.?
Janelle Chanona
?Do you have friends here from before??
Iqbal Singh
?Not really, but I used to read the geographical and I know that there lot of our communities living here.? JC: So you are fighting your case.? ?Yeah, my domestic amenities is going on in Canada, my two lawyers are looking at that.? JC: ?And everything you put on your Belize passport application is true?? ?Yeah. Everything is true.? JC: ?Where you ever detained in Canada as a threat to national security??
?I don’t want to answer on that but once they put once one certificate about threat to national security but National security certificate was quashed by the federal court and it was upheld and it’s gone back to the Ministry of Immigration and she’s supposed to make decision on my case for deportation but I didn’t wait for that deportation. I voluntarily take departure from Canada and come here.?
We hope to have a full interview with Iqbal Singh tomorrow. The economic citizenship investment program director Joey Belisle told news five that there was nothing unusual about Singh?s application for a passport and that an INTERPOL background check did not reveal anything about him either.
