Fresh charges in Air India bombing

The crash, off the coast of Ireland, killed 329 people

By Ian Gunn in Vancouver

Officials in Britain have given permission for Canadian prosecutors to lay new charges in the bombing of an Air India flight in 1985.

Canadian officials have long wanted to charge Inderjit Singh Reyat for helping to plant a bomb which they say brought down Air India Flight 182 in the north Atlantic, killing all 329 people on board.

But they needed special legal permission from Britain to prosecute Mr Reyat and that permission has come at the very last minute.

Canadian prosecutors are visibly relieved and buoyed by this announcement from London.

They have long made it clear that Mr Reyat is at the very top of their list of suspects in the Air India bombing.

Prison release

The pressure to indict him has been mounting because at the end of this week Mr Reyat was due to walk free after a 10-year prison term for his part in a separate bombing at Tokyo's Narita airport.

Jack Straw modified the original extradition request

Canadian investigators believe the two explosions, which happened hours apart, are linked and they say Mr Reyat played a role in each bombing.

But the extradition agreement that saw Mr Reyat sent from Britain to Canada to face the Tokyo charges specifically said that the Canadians could not lay any further charges against Mr Reyat.

But now, with just days remaining before his release, British Home Secretary Jack Straw has taken the unusual step of modifying the old extradition agreement to allow new charges.

Trial

A spokesperson for the Canadian prosecutors confirms that they will indeed bring a fresh indictment against Mr Reyat for the Air India bombing before the end of this week.

Mr Reyat's lawyer has called the British decision shocking and says his client has the option of seeking appeal in London.

Two other men are already in a Vancouver prison on charges in the Air India case.

Prosecutors say they want Mr Reyat to join them until the massive and complex Air India trial opens next year.