Convicted Air India bombmaker Inderjit Singh Reyat free on bail
Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person convicted in the 1985 Air India bombings, walked out of a Lower Mainland prison in B.C. Thursday after more than 20 years behind bars.
Reyat, who still faces perjury charges, was released at 2:55 p.m. PT from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, B.C.
He appeared before a justice of the peace by video conference and agreed to the bail conditions set by the B.C. Court of Appeal.
His family reportedly posted a $500,000 surety for his bail.
Members of Reyat's family, including his wife and brother, greeted him emotionally outside the pretrial centre. Reyat is now at his wife's house in Surrey.
The B.C. Court of Appeal on Wednesday granted bail to Reyat.
Reyat was convicted of two counts of manslaughter for his part in building the bomb that detonated at Narita International Airport in Tokyo in 1985, killing two baggage handlers. He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the bombing of Air India Flight 182, which went down the same day as the Tokyo bombing, killing another 329 people.
He faces additional charges of perjury related to accusations that he lied during his testimony at the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted of murder in the bombings. The trial on the conspiracy charges is set for January 2009.
The B.C. Court of Appeal issued a memo on Thursday morning, saying any media organizations that want to obtain copies of the court order that contains the release conditions, or the reasons for judgment, will have to arrange a date for a hearing.
Before the court makes a decision about releasing the documents, it is expected to hear opinions from lawyers on both sides of the case on whether the public should be allowed to know what the bail conditions are.
Special prosecutor Len Doust, who is handling the case for the Crown, supported releasing the details, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal told CBC News on Wednesday.
The conditions are strict, but they will be kept secret under a publication ban until the judge decides otherwise, Oppal said.