VANCOUVER—The two men acquitted in the Air India bombings would be in prison now had the only person ever convicted in the case told the truth, a senior Mountie suggested Friday after Inderjit Singh Reyat was handed the country’s highest sentence ever for the lies he told under oath.
Instead, Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass said Reyat’s “twisted thought process” denied justice to the families of the 331 victims whose lives were ended 25 years ago.
“We believe that the evidence that he could have provided in court if he had told the truth would have provided evidence that a reasonable jury and judge would have convicted on,” Bass said outside court after Reyat was sentenced.
“There’s little doubt that had he testified truthfully at the trial of his co-conspirators, the authorities would today be that much closer to determining precisely what occurred and the identities of those involved.”
Reyat was handed a nine-year sentence for lying 19 times at the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri. He was given credit for 17 months of time already served, leaving him seven years and seven months in prison.
His testimony was part of a deal that saw him plead guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of 329 people aboard Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985.
The 58-year-old had already served a 10-year sentence for the deaths the same day of two Tokyo baggage handlers who were killed when a bomb-laden suitcase meant for another Air India plane exploded prematurely.
In handing down his sentence, Judge Mark McEwan said the effect of Reyat’s perjury on the outcome of the trial is incalculable.
“In the witness box, Mr. Reyat behaved like a man still committed to a cause which treated hundreds of men, women and children as expendable,” McEwan said. “There is no other way to view this.”
Reyat appeared as a Crown witness at the Air India trial but then refused to cooperate, repeatedly saying he didn’t know or remember anything about the plot. He was charged with perjury three years later and convicted last September.
At a sentencing hearing in November, Reyat prepared a hasty statement after the judge noted he hadn’t bothered to apologize for his actions.
“No words in any language can ever bring closure to those who have lost loved ones in the tragedy,” Reyat said in the statement read by his lawyer, although he did not take responsibility for his role in the explosions.
On Friday, McEwan said it’s remarkable that Reyat would make such a statement in light of the crime he committed.
“While he refuses to speak or tell the truth about what he knows, his expressions of remorse ring hollow to me.”
The judge said Reyat’s attitude during his testimony means that his prospects for rehabilitation are dim.
Perviz Madon, whose husband Sam died aboard Flight 182, said outside court that she’s relieved the Air India matter has come to an end, although she’s hoping others involved in the bombings will yet face justice.
“I’ve lost a dear husband and we can’t get him back,” she said, tearing up.
“It’s been 25 years and I’m getting older. There’s another generation that’s come up in our lives and we’re still talking.”
Until Friday, the longest sentence ever handed down for perjury was six years in an Alberta case.
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