Sikh Youth trial: Accused plead not guilty in charges based on ‘one email’

At the first court hearing of the West Midlands Terror Unit led Charities Commission case against Sikh Youth UK (SYUK), the accused pled not guilty on charges of fraudulent activity as a charity.

The case is the result of a raid initially carried out by the West Midlands Counter-Terror Unit in September 2018. Sikh Youth UK are an award winning community group, that are not a registered charity. Their funding came from donations to support their work on issues like awareness on targeted sexual grooming, supporting those suffering with addiction and more.

The police investigation against the accused – SYUK sevadaar (selfless servant) Kuldeep (Deepa) Singh and his sister Rajbinder Kaur – came after the raids of the homes of five Sikhs last year. Indian media stated the raids, of which they had classified information, were a result of Indian state ‘diplomatic pressure’ on the UK government based on targeting those linked to Jagtar Singh Johal, the Scottish Sikh activist detained since November 2017 in India. It is believed by many within the community those targeted were picked based on vocal support for the #FreeJaggiNow campaign, underlined by the fact those raided also included a member of the National Sikh Youth Federation, another group openly supporting the #FreeJaggiNow campaign and highlighting India’s human-rights abuse issues.

Famed human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce said of the raids, there was a ‘paper trail’ which led back to India, with allegations going further to suggest the information which led to the raids was obtained via the torture of Jagtar Singh in India. West Midlands police deny this but remain silent on questions about the source of information and quotes on ‘diplomatic pressure’ Indian media published.

Deepa Singh has charges against him of providing false or misleading information to the Charity Commission whilst his sister has the same charges but is also accused of money laundering and six counts of theft amounting to £47,926.

A SYUK statement quoted their legal team, saying ‘Following the facade for over one year of investigations which commenced from a raid by the CTU…The case has now come down to one email sent which clearly sets out the SYUK agenda and answers questions posed by the charity commission.’ The statement also claims the charges are a ‘fabricated case devised by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, which is aimed at defaming SYUK.’ Read the full statement here.

The case has been moved from Birmingham magistrates court, where the trial hearing was, to Birmingham crown court, where the trial will commence on November 28th.

Sikh PA will continue providing updates on this case as it comes in.