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A B.C. judge approved the extradition of her mother and uncle to India in 2014, but the decision was overturned on appeal. On Sept. 8, 2017, a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada ruled the extradition could proceed, citing assurances the federal government had received that the pair would not be mistreated.

DOJ still wants us to keep it hush

Prior to that decision, lawyers for the suspects forwarded to the justice department information they claimed was fresh evidence of mistreatment and torture of prisoners in India.

But the minister believed the new evidence was “weak, irrelevant and a reformulation of submissions previously considered,” court filings state.

On Sept. 20, 2017, Badesha and Sidhu were escorted out of jail and flown to Toronto.

Heavily redacted RCMP emails, BlackBerry messages and handwritten notes reveal the government was keen to remove Badesha and Sidhu swiftly and discreetly as news of their possible transfer had already been “leaked” to media in India.

On Sept. 13, RCMP Staff Sgt. Laura Livingstone sent a text on her BlackBerry: “I heard from DOJ. … They continue to be panicked about leaking.”

Two days later, she sent an email to her colleagues: “DOJ still wants us to keep it hush; although, I have a feeling a lot of people in India are aware! But, we’ll keep up our end.”

On Sept. 19, 2017, RCMP Sgt. Troy Mechan emailed colleagues to say the transfer needed to be “as seamless and discreet as possible.”

“This is a high profile extradition with significant political pressures from many interested parties. The more we can keep our two prisoners out of view from the general public, in secure areas and avoiding/bypassing security the better.”