26 year-old Sikh American lies in critical condition after being attacked on July 3rd Washington D.C. – July 5, 2007: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest Sikh civil rights and advocacy organization, urges the entire Sikh American community to be vigilant against possible bias motivated incidents during the July 4th holiday week. During the course of the past several days, the world has been in a degree of shock regarding the string of failed terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom. The attempts in front of a night club and Heathrow Airport earlier this week to the controlled bombing by law enforcement of two vehicles and the recent arrests of eight young suspects have pushed the nation into a relative state of fear. Earlier this week, 26 year-old Sikh American, Satender Singh of Sacramento, CA, was violently assaulted by a group of individuals while at a local park with several of his friends. The perpetrators of this vicious attack reportedly yelled xenophobic and homophobic remarks at Mr. Singh. As of this morning, Mr. Singh lies in critical condition in a local hospital on life support and with minimal brain activity. “Many hate crimes are perpetrated by individuals who have a history of making hate and bias-motivated speech,” remarked SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. “It is incumbent upon the community to track and report comments and hate-inspired conduct which may result in violent crimes in the future.” Over the past decade, SALDEF has observed that following any incident relating to terrorism, bias-motivated crimes against the Sikh American community have often increased. Over the July 4th holiday celebration and holiday weekend, SALDEF urges the Sikh American community to remain vigilant against possible bias motivated comments and hate crimes. Additionally, over the past week SALDEF has participated in conference calls with FBI Headquarters and the FBI Washington Field Office to discuss community concerns regarding the recent international events. SALDEF commends the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security on their efforts and the messages they and President Bush have used in an effort to minimize fears in the United States. A few precautions you can take during the July 4th Holiday: Ensure you know where you and your family are at all times. Make sure you know who the proper authorities in your community are and how to contact them. If someone makes a comment, ignore it, and document what happened and what was said against you or a family member as soon as possible. If physical action is taken against you, call 911 and document the incident as soon as possible so that nothing is forgotten. Please download and distribute SALDEF’s Know Your Rights Guide for a complete list of how to handle a number of different potential situations. SALDEF and the entire Sikh American community offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Satender Singh, and pray for his recovery. If you have any additional information about this case or have tips about the suspects, please contact investigators at 916-874-5115. If you believe you have been the victim of a hate crime or a bias incident (comment) report it immediately to SALDEF at http://saldef.wpengine.com/reportform.aspx or directly at 202-393-2700 ext 27 or info@saldef.org.
