Couple sentenced in Germany for spying on Sikhs for Indian state

A German court on Thursday convicted an Indian married couple of spying on Kashmiri and Sikh groups in Germany on behalf of India’s foreign intelligence service.

The court in Frankfurt found Manmohan Singh, 50, and his wife, Kanwal Jit Kaur, 51, guilty of handing information on such groups to India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The process of conviction began in 2019 (see article) below, and sentencing was confirmed on December 12th 2019.

Manmohan Singh was handed a one-and-a-half-year suspended jail sentence for illegal espionage activities, while Kanwal Jit Kaur received a fine equivalent to 180 days of income for aiding and abetting such activities.

Two Indian citizens living in Germany have been found guilty of spying on Kashmiris and Sikhs for India’s intelligence agency. The couple have been sentenced to suspended jail terms and large fines.

The conviction, the second of its kind since 2016 (see article below for more), further adds weight to allegations from within the Sikh community of Indian state interference and spying on the community in efforts to curtail Sikh activism.

Original article from April 2019:

On Tuesday April 9th German courts released information of an Indian-born married couple charged with spying on the nation’s Sikh and Kashmiri community.

The couple charged with espionage (via Sikh24.com).

Named as 50-year-old Manmohan Singh and his wife Kanwal Jit Kaur, the couple were officially charged with espionage. Manmohan Singh is said to have been a journalist for Sikh TV station the Akaal Channel‘s German outlet, according to local sangat (Sikh congregation), something which the organisation deny, stating he only did camera work for them in 2014. Courts found they held monthly meetings with the Indian intelligence officer between July and December 2017, for which they were paid €7200. The couple are yet to be sentenced for the charges, which can carry up to a 10 year sentence.

According to media reports, a court statement read, “Manmohan S. agreed by January 2015 at the latest to provide information about Germany’s Sikh community and Kashmir movement and their relatives to an employee of the Indian foreign intelligence service Research & Analysis Wing”.

Kashmiri and Sikh activists have been known to work together as minorities in India with a shared a desire for a free homeland within the current Indian state, linked to a history of human rights abuses of their communities at the hands of Indian authorities.

This incident is the second time in the last few years Germany’s Sikh community has been targeted by the Indian government, with an immigration worker being charged in 2016 for espionage which included accessing private information from German government databases to look into Sikh activists.

Robin Singh from Hamburg, a respected Sikh community figure in Germany that describes himself as a ‘social activist’, said of the arrest, “It’s an uncomfortable feeling to know that anyone in your community can be a spy. They are ordinary people and perhaps a part of the Sangat. We must accept that there can be spies in every Gurdwara but also in public authorities, as we found out in 2016 with the immigration worker. Sikhs are concerned and will feel suspicious.

“The good news is that the German Government’s intelligence service is detecting spies and protecting the rights of the Sikh citizens.”

Belief that Indian spies have infiltrated Sikh activist circles in all diaspora nations is very common among the Sikh community, with this news only helping to cement that belief. Why German Sikhs have seemingly been focused on remains unclear, although the community sincerely appreciate the work of the German government in curtailing the efforts of the Indian government.

Robin Singh explained, “In the late 80s during the disturbance in Punjab, Sikhs started seeking political asylum here. During this period Sikhs were very well organised in the communal and political sense. Even today, Sikhs are protesting every 26th January and 15th August in front of the Indian Consulate in Frankfurt.”

Just as in the case of the UK raids against Sikh activists last year, where five homes were raided and property confiscated (and yet to be returned) without any arrests, there is a belief that the Indian state is bypassing national laws to criminalise Sikhs that are not breaking any laws, such as advocating for Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland made up of Punjab. This type of action has been well documented, most notably in the report ‘Criminalising Sikh Dissent’, created in collaboration by Canada’s Sikh Liberation Front and UK based National Sikh Youth Federation.

Robin Singh urged the Indian state to come forward and explain their actions, whilst also engaging with the German government about any perceived issues there may be with the Sikh community.

“I presume the reason why Sikhs are being targeted is simply to control and destroy political and communal activism in the Sikh diaspora but the Indian government should come forward with their reasons as to why they are spying on the Sikh community.

“Sikhs have a good reputation in Germany, they are known as hardworking and trustful citizens. However, currently Sikhs are facing major issues within our own community which could certainly be due to an external influence such as these spies.

“As the Sikhs have a good relationship to German political parties, it would make sense for the Indian government to raise any concerns they may have with the Sikh community – with German government, who are more than competent to deal with these supposed issues.”

The news of the arrest has prompted international reaction from Sikhs, including president of Canada based World Sikh Organisation Mukhbir Singh urging Canadian authorities to investigate Indian state interference in the nation.