Sikh Asylum Seekers Allegedly Tortured at ICE Detention Facility in Folkston, GA

NORWICH, CT, USA—Members and Activists of the Sikh Community held a meeting with various federal officials including local Congressman offices to briefed them about torture and mistreatment of Sikh detainees in ICE Detention Centers.

Swaranjit Singh Khalsa, President of the Sikh Sewak Society International and Director of United Sikhs, along with other activists arranged this meeting with various officials, including Congressman Joseph Courtney Office. Joseph Courtney is the U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 2nd congressional district.

In a statement released to Sikh24 after his meeting, Khalsa said: “Sikhs came and choose to live in America because the Indian Government committed Sikh Genocide in 1984, and because of going mistreatment of Sikhs in India”.

“If America won’t understand the pain of these people then who will?” Khalsa asked.

“Sikh Detainees don’t want to go back to India as their lives are in danger and most of them have already applied for political asylum and have no criminal background,” he added.

Another activist, Resham Singh shared details of his brother’s asylum case. His brother, Harpreet Singh, a 1992 born young Sikh man from India, is in the Folkston ICE Detention Center in Georgia and being tortured by ICE officials because he and other Sikhs chose to go on hunger strike as a way to protest against mistreatment.

“It’s been 10 days he is on hunger strike and he was made to remove all of his clothes and was given cold shower and was detained naked for two days in cold air conditioning,” Resham Singh added.

“A lot of detainees are suffering from chickenpox and that’s why their attorneys are not even allowed to meet them,” he added.

Sikhs detained in El Paso and Otero detention centers were force-fed after hunger strike was started by them.

Many Sikhs Civil rights organizations including SALDEF, Sikh Coalition and United Sikhs are working on addressing this issue by meeting federal level representatives so this in-humane behavior by ICE can be stopped.

Swaranjit Singh Khalsa said now this US Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Chris Murphy and Congressman Joe Courtney’s office are aware of the details of Sikh asylum seekers. He hoped that soon some action will be taken to provide some relief to these detainees.

Sikh Asylum Seekers Allegedly Tortured at ICE Detention Facility in Folkston,Georgia.
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