HOLDING GOVERNMENTS TO ACCCOUNT FOR “MURDER FOR HIRE”PLOT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
On September 17, 2024, BHB filed a suit against the government of India and several high-ranking officials for their unprecedent efforts to murder a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil. Our client is human rights leader Gurpatwant Pannun, who has protested against the mistreatment of Sikhs and advocated for the idea of a separate homeland for Sikhs in India. In June of 2023, Mr. Pannun faced an assassination attempt in New York. This plot was foiled when the hitman turned out to be an undercover U.S. agent. This case is unique among international human rights cases because it deploys U.S. tort law instead of the usual tools (e.g., the Alien Tort Statute).
“In this country, we have freedom of speech and the rule of law. When a foreign government seeks to export tyranny and murder, our citizens have a right to seek redress in the courts. We aim to hold everyone involved in this plot accountable.”
Partner: Global Diligence
Important Documents:
Complaint - Gurpatwant Singh Pannun v. The Government of India, Ajit Doval, Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav, Nikhil Gupta, and DOES 1-50
Media Coverage: Press Release | NPR, Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg.com, Times of India, Yahoo! News, The Global and Mail, Geo News, Daily Pakistan, and The Canadian Press