Abbottsford police and Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers have arrested Mr. Laiber Singh, a paralyzed Punjabi refugee claimant who has been in sanctuary since July 7 at Abbortsford Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar Gurudwara.

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The arrest was made late last night at MSA Hospital in Abbotsford, where Mr. Singh has been since Thursday August 9 on the advice of his physician. On Monday night at approximately 10 pm, close to 20-30 uniformed officers, border services agents, and undercover officers arrived at the hospital to arrest Mr. Singh. Temple President Swaran Singh Gill, who was with Mr. Singh at the time, was not allowed to make any phone calls, including to legal counsel, and was led to believe that he too would face arrest.

According to Mr. Swarn Singh Gill, President of the Abbortsford Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar Gurudwara, “We are really concerned about Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh was given sanctuary in order to protect his life and this past week it was in Mr. Singh’s best interests to go to the hospital and receive the medical attention that he needed. Even in the hospital, he was under the care and supervision of the Gurudwara, and therefore we believe still protected by the tradition of sanctuary.”

This particularly harsh and punitive measure must be condemned. We demand that CBSA not remove Mr. Singh, particularly given his critical medical condition and the fact that he has a pending humanitarian review of his case.