Mother, uncle in honour killing case facing extradition

VANCOUVER – B.C. Supreme Court is hearing that a British Columbia woman who Indian authorities say was the victim of an honour killing 13 years ago planned in Canada by her mother and uncle was deeply in love and planning to bring her new husband home.

Jody Wright was describing the final months of her friend Jassi Sidhu’s life at the extradition heading that began this morning, saying Sidhu had said she had married outside of the marriage arranged by her family.

Wright says after Sidhu admitted to the secret marriage during what was described as an “interrogation,” Wright and Sidhu agreed on a code word that should trigger a call to police.

Wright testified that Jassi twice called in that code to say she was locked in her room and twice Wright called police.

Wright says Sidhu told her her life and the life of her husband were threatened and she was forced to sign a letter seeking an annulment, but Sidhu ran away from home and went to India to bring her husband back to Canada.

The 25-year-old was found dead in a canal in India after an attack that her husband survived.

Her mother, Malkit Sidhu, and her uncle, Surjit Badesha, face extradition to India to be tried on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

Note to readers: This is a corrected version. An earlier version spelled Jodie Wright’s name wrong.