“Witch-hunt”: Demonstrators protest at Sikh Youth UK sentencing

Dozens gathered outside Birmingham Crown Court yesterday, as Sikh groups from across the world followed the conclusion of the Crown Prosecution Services case against community group Sikh Youth UK (SYUK).

Sevadaar Kuldeep (Deepa) Singh was given a four month suspended 18-month sentence, whilst his sister (selfless servant) Rajbinder Kaur was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail, in a case demonstrators declared as a “witch hunt” and motivated by a “political agenda”.

The demonstrations were due to the fact the investigation into SYUK began with Counter-Terror raids in 2018 which Indian media reported as linked to Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) activism and the imprisonment of India’s Scottish political prisoner Jagtar Singh Johal. Infamously, Indian media labelled the raids the result of “diplomatic pressure”, amid leaks about the raids which could only have come from the UK authorities.

The investigation culminated in charges related to the Charities Commission rules, despite Sikh Youth UK not being a charity. Rajbinder Kaur is charged with supplying false information to The Charity Commission, theft and money laundering, whilst Deepa was also charged with supplying false information to The Charity Commission.

A documentary by SYUK on the case against them and its ties to Indian State interference in the UK was released, detailing how former Charity Commission head William Shawcross also went on to work on so-called “Khalistani extremism” for government taskforce Prevent. Furthermore, the documentary also relays SYUK’s own accounts and even insight into the interrogation faced by the two sevadaars, such as questions about Jagtar Singh Johal and examination of faith based content shared by the Sikh Youth UK social media page.

See the documentary here:

Respected Sikh figures from groups like Sikh Federation UK, Sikh Human Rights, National Sikh Youth Federation and Saving Punjab attended the sentencing. See video interviews on their perspectives on the case here.

A statement by Sikh Human Rights, an advocacy body with professional legal insight, called the case against SYUK “a deliberate attempt to undermine Sikh activism”.

Reports from sangat (Sikh congregation) in attendance reported the presiding judge noted the great community work of Sikh Youth UK during sentencing, telling Deepa Singh his life had been “turned around”, with over 50 character references detailing his seva (selfless service), including from parents impacted by grooming gangs.

Deepa Singh and Sikh Youth UK rose to prominence partly because of the group’s effort to tackle the targeting of Sikh females by grooming gangs, leading to accusations of Sikh vigilantism. The sentencing of the SYUK reps ironically comes as public desire to readdress the issue peaks, yet ignores the plight of those who originally challenged the scandal, such as Deepa Singh.

Global Sikh figures from Canada, the USA and across Europe also posted about the case, showing support to the SYUK, who have previously been commended by the highest Sikh authority (the Akal Takth- eternal throne) for their seva, and even won a Sandwell Council award in 2015.

As referenced by several Sikh community figures during the sentencing, concern about UK authorities ignoring Indian State interference and persecuting Sikh activists is only increasing after the SYUK sentencing.