Karamjit Singh Chahal, a Sikh who has lived in the United Kingdom for the past 22 years is at imminent risk of being forcibly returned to India, where he would be at risk of torture, “disappearance” or extrajudicial execution. He has been an active supporter of demands for the creation of a separate Sikh state (“Khalistan”) in Punjab, and claims that two of his close relatives have been shot dead by the Indian security forces, and that he himself was detained and tortured during a visit to India in 1984. He has been detained in the UK since August 1990 under the 1971 Immigration Act, pending applications for asylum and appeals against his deportation. If a final appeal fails, which was heard on 28-29 July by the Court of Appeal, he could be forcibly returned immediately.
