Can terrorist be lawyer?
1984 hijacker seeks to avoid deportation

By SAM PAZZANO, COURTS BUREAU

A convicted hijacker and terrorist who is facing deportation tried to convince the Law Society of Upper Canada that he's rehabilitated and should be called to practise law in Ontario.

Parminder Singh Saini testified yesterday he made a "terrible, wrong decision" when he commandeered a five-man Sikh team that hijacked an Indian Airlines jet with 265 passengers in July 1984.

"I had no legitimate right to do that ... It's not legal," said the now 46-year-old Saini, who graduated from University of Windsor law school two years ago, and was testifying at a "good character" hearing at the law society.

He blamed his youth, ignorance and naivete for blindly following the orders of an extremist student group.

But discipline counsel Susan Heakes said Saini recruited hijackers, brandished and fired a gun. He threatened to "start throwing dead bodies out of the plane" while conducting 20 hours of tense negotiations with Pakistani authorities after forcing the Airbus to land in Lahore, Pakistan. No one was seriously hurt and the hijackers surrendered.

"He requires a veritable mountain of good character evidence to rebut an act of terrorism, although it is not impossible," Heakes said.