Hong Kong resident fighting extradition to India claims he was waterboarded and given electric shocks during eight days of torture linked to his religious beliefs
- Ramanjit Singh claims Punjab police punished him for being a Sikh and campaigning for independent state
- India officials want him back to face charges connected to a jail break, weapons offences, and fake credit cards
A Hong Kong resident challenging extradition to India has accused police officers in his native country of punishing him for supporting a separatist movement, through degrading torture that left him with extreme pain.
Ramanjit Singh, also known as Romi, said Punjab officers administered electric shocks to his genitals, overstretched his legs, and poured water over his face during his eight-day remand at a police station after he was arrested on suspicion of car theft in 2016.
“I felt extreme pain,” Singh wrote in an affidavit last month. “Until today there are still scars left.”
His counsel, Professor Simon Young Ngai-man, is relying on the accusations to invoke protection from the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance for his discharge from extradition proceedings at Eastern Court.
At issue is whether there are substantial grounds for the court to believe the prosecution and extradition request were in fact a smokescreen to cover the true purpose of prosecuting, or punishing, Singh for his religion or political beliefs.