Gurpatwant Pannun case: What US officials said after extradition of accused Indian national to United States

The extradition of Indian national Nikhil Gupta, the accused in the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun alleged murder plot which was foiled by American agencies, shows that the United States will not tolerate attempts to ‘harm’ its citizens, Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Monday.

(SFJ legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.)

“This extradition makes it clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens,” Garland stated.

“Gupta will now face justice in an American courtroom for his involvement in an alleged plot, directed by an employee of the Indian government, to target and assassinate a US national for his support of the Sikh separatist movement in India,” the Attorney General added.

53-year-old Gupta, also known as ‘Nick,’ was extradited to the United States on June 14 from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested in June last year at the request of the US government. ‘Nick’ pleaded ‘not guilty’ after being produced in a federal court in New York, according to his attorney, Jeff Chabrowe.

Deputy Attorney General, Lisa Monaco, called the alleged murder-for-hire plot a ‘brazen attempt to silence a political activist’ for exercising his freedom of speech.

“The extradition of the defendant is a vital step towards justice,” Monaco noted.

Christopher Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), asserted that the agency ‘will not tolerate attempts by foreign nationals or anyone else to repress constitutionally-protected freedoms in the United States.’

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual American-Canadian citizenship, is the founder-leader of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US-based pro-Khalistan outfit. On July 1, 2020, he was designated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in India as an ‘individual terrorist’ under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

(With PTI inputs)