SURREY, British Columbia (AP) — Three Indian men charged with killing Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year have appeared in court in the case that set off a diplomatic spat after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement.
Canadian police had arrested the three Indian men last week in Edmonton, Alberta, and they have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
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SURREY, British Columbia (AP) — Three Indian men charged with killing Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year have appeared in court in the case that set off a diplomatic spat after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement.
Members of British Columbia's Sikh community gather in front of the courthouse in Surrey, British Columbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Three men accused of murdering temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar made their first court appearance by video. (Chuck Chiang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Members of British Columbia's Sikh community gather in front of the courthouse in Surrey, British Columbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Three men accused of murdering temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar made their first court appearance by video. (Chuck Chiang/The Canadian Press via AP)
This undated photo released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shows suspect Karan Brar, who was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, May 3, 2024, in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canadian police say they arrested three suspects in the slaying of the Sikh separatist leader last June that become the center of a diplomatic spat with India, and are investigating possible ties between the detainees and the Indian government. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)
In this photograph taken with a drone, people sit on the front lawn of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, in Surrey, B.C. on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, Officer-in-Charge of IHIT listens to questions from media during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said Friday that the investigation into whether the men had ties to India's government was ongoing.
Nijjar, 45, was shot to death in his pickup truck last June after he left the Sikh temple he led in the city of Surrey. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland. India designated him a terrorist in 2020 and at the time of his death had been seeking his arrest for alleged involvement in an attack on a Hindu priest.
India has denied involvement in the slaying. In response to the allegations, India told Canada last year to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country. Tensions remain but have somewhat eased since.
The arrested men — Kamalpreet Singh, 22, Karan Brar, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28 — appeared in court Tuesday via a video link and agreed to a trial in English. They were ordered to appear in British Columbia Provincial Court again on May 21.
Brar and Karanpreet Singh appeared in the morning. Kamalpreet’s appearance was delayed until the afternoon as he waited to speak to a lawyer.
The small provincial courtroom was filled with spectators during the morning session. Others crowded into an overflow room to watch the proceedings via video.
Richard Fowler, the defense lawyer representing Brar, said the case will eventually be moved to the Supreme Court and combined into one case.
About 100 people gathered outside the courthouse waving yellow flags and holding photos of Indian government officials whom they accuse of being involved in Nijjar’s killing.
Canadian police say the three suspects had been living in Canada as non-permanent residents.
A bloody decadelong Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
The Khalistan homeland movement has lost much of its political power but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as in the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora. While the active insurgency ended years ago, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
In this photograph taken with a drone, people sit on the front lawn of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, in Surrey, B.C. on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Members of British Columbia's Sikh community gather in front of the courthouse in Surrey, British Columbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Three men accused of murdering temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar made their first court appearance by video. (Chuck Chiang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Members of British Columbia's Sikh community gather in front of the courthouse in Surrey, British Columbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Three men accused of murdering temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar made their first court appearance by video. (Chuck Chiang/The Canadian Press via AP)
This undated photo released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shows suspect Karan Brar, who was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, May 3, 2024, in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canadian police say they arrested three suspects in the slaying of the Sikh separatist leader last June that become the center of a diplomatic spat with India, and are investigating possible ties between the detainees and the Indian government. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)
In this photograph taken with a drone, people sit on the front lawn of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, in Surrey, B.C. on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, Officer-in-Charge of IHIT listens to questions from media during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Voters in the Dominican Republic cast ballots Sunday in general elections likely to reinforce the government's crackdown on its shared border with Haiti and the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the violence-stricken nation.
Leading the presidential race is President Luis Abinader, who is seeking reelection as one of the most popular leaders in the Americas. If he tops 50% of the vote, he will win another term without proceeding to a second round of voting.
Trailing him are former President Leonel Fernández and Mayor Abel Martínez. Dominicans are also voting in legislative elections.
Many of the 8 million eligible voters in the Dominican Republic are still traumatized by an electoral authority decision to suspend the 2020 municipal election due to a technical glitch.
Abelardo Ubrí Antomarche, a teacher who lives in capital city of Santo Domingo, was one of the first to vote shortly after 7 a.m.
“We need to vote, no matter how,” he said.
The voting centers in the Dominican Republic will be open until 5 p.m. (2100 GMT), with first results expected a few hours later.
Abinader's anti-corruption agenda and push to grow the Dominican Republic's economy has resonated with many of the 8 million voters in the Caribbean nation. Much of his popularity, however, has been fueled by the government's harsh crackdown on Haitians and the border the Dominican Republic shares with its crisis-stricken neighbor.
“This migratory problem worries me, because we're seeing a massive migration from our neighbor and it feels like it's out of control,” said Perla Concepción, a 29-year-old secretary, adding that migration was her main concern as she takes to the polls.
The Dominican Republic has long taken a hard line stance with Haitian migrants, but such policies have ramped up since Haiti entered a free fall following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. As gangs have terrorized Haitians, the Dominican government has built a Trump-like border wall along its 250-mile (400-kilometer) border. He has also repeatedly urged the United Nations to send an international force to Haiti, saying such action “cannot wait any longer.”
The government has also rejected calls to build refugee camps for those fleeing the violence and carried out mass deportations of 175,000 Haitians just last year, according to government figures. While the policy is popular among voters, it has provoked sharp criticisms from human rights organizations which call the policy racist and a violation of international law.
"These collective expulsions are a clear violation of the Dominican Republic’s international obligations and put the lives and rights of these people at risk. Forced returns to Haiti must end,” Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, wrote in an April report.
Incumbent President Luis Abinader, who is seeking re-election for the Modern Revolutionary Party, votes during general elections in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A voter is assisted by electoral official to cast his ballot during general elections in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Incumbent President Luis Abinader, who is seeking re-election for the Modern Revolutionary Party, votes during general elections in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Voters line up outside a polling station during general elections in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
Electoral officials assist a voter to cast his ballot during general elections in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A Haitian street worker sells kites at a traffic light in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Vendors, mostly Haitians, sell and buy goods at a market in the border town of Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, May 17, 2024. As violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A cook dumps rice into a steaming pot at a market in the border town of Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, May 17, 2024. As violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A boy stands on the bumper step of a paddy wagon holding undocumented Haitians detained by immigration officials, in Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, May 17, 2024. As violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Migration officials detain undocumented Haitians in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, May 16, 2024.As soaring violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, Dominican Republic’s election on May 19 has been defined by calls for more migratory crackdowns and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A national flag flies over a miles-long wall built by the Dominican Republic, that runs along the Haitian border, as seen from Pepillo Salcedo, Friday, May 17, 2024. As soaring violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People wait in Ouanaminthe, Haiti to cross into Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, May 17, 2024. As soaring violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, Dominican Republic’s election on May 19 has been defined by calls for more migratory crackdowns and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A political billboard with a message that reads in Spanish: "Better health coverage for the most vulnerable sectors", promotes the candidacy of incumbent President Luis Abinader, who is running for reelection, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Haitians cross the border into Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, May 17, 2024. As violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
