Lone convict in 1985 Air India bombings gets bail

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Keywords: Sikh Militancy Air India Flight 182,, Terrorists

Vancouver, British Columbia: The British Columbia Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered the only man convicted in the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight released on bail, freeing him at least temporarily after more than two decades in prison.

Convicted bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat served his entire sentence for convictions related to the Air India explosion that killed more than 200 people off the coast of Ireland and a fatal blast the same day at the Narita airport in Japan. But he remained behind bars facing perjury charges for allegedly lying during the trial of two men accused of taking part in the plot. Both were acquitted.

The British Columbia Supreme Court had earlier denied Reyat bail on the perjury charges ruling his detention was necessary to maintain confidence in the justice system.

Reyat's lawyer, Ian Donaldson asked the appellate court to reconsider.

''He's been in jail a long time,'' Reyat's lawyer, Ian Donaldson, said outside the court Wednesday after the decision.

''He doesn't know yet, but I'm sure that he'll be pleased when he hears.''

Reyat, whose perjury trial is scheduled to begin in January, faces several conditions for his release, but they were not revealed.

It is believed the plot against Air India was hatched by Sikh extremists allegedly retaliating against the state-owned airline for a raid on the Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest shrine.

Two baggage handlers died when luggage being transferred from an Air India flight exploded at Narita airport and 229 passengers and crew were killed when Flight 182 went down off the coast of Ireland.