Vancouver, April 14, 2004

The landmark terrorism trial of the Sikh men accused of the 1985 Air India bombings that killed 331 people will enter its fifth and final phase next week.

The trial began in April 2003 and has heard more than 120 days of testimony.

Defence lawyer Michael Code told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson the defence team likely will wrap up its part of the case's fourth chapter by Friday.

The fifth and final chapter of the case will deal with forensic evidence and with expert opinions on the evidence.

The debate is about whether the bombs were placed at the back of the plane or the front. Bags are kept at the back, so if the explosion occurred up front it suggests they weren't concealed in suitcases as is alleged.

Code said some testimony will be heard next week on attempts by Inderjit Singh Reyat to obtain dynamite.

Reyat pleaded guilty Feb. 10, 2003, to manslaughter for supplying materials used in the bombing of Air India Flight 182.

Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik are being tried on charges of conspiracy and murder in two bombings on June 23, 1985.

An initial blast at Tokyo's Narita Airport killed two baggage handlers. Less than an hour later, Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 aboard.

The first chapter dealt with the 1985 ticket purchases and baggage handling at Vancouver and Toronto airports.

The second chapter covered events leading up to the explosion aboard Flight 182, which killed 135 children among the 329 passengers. Only 132 bodies were recovered.

The third chapter dealt with the motives behind the bombings.

The prosecution alleges one motive was the desire to create an independent state in Khalistan. A second was to get revenge for acts of the Indian government for the attack on the Sikh shrine the Golden Temple.

The fourth chapter now winding up has dealt with the conspiracy to bomb Air India and the alleged involvement of Malik and Bagri, including confessions the pair allegedly made to others.

The case has been heard in a $7.2-million courtroom custom built for the case.

The court is separated from the public gallery by a wall of bullet-proof glass. Malik and Bagri observe the proceedings from a prisoners' dock shielded by more protective glass.

The men are believed to have been members of the Babbar Khalsa Sikh terrorist group dedicated to the establishment of a Sikh homeland in India's Punjab region

(Source The Canadian Press)