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| Air India trial delayed again by dispute over funding of legal team
VANCOUVER, Canada, Oct. 6 (AFP) - The trial of two Sikhs charged in the 1985 Air India bombings was delayed for a week Monday in a dispute over who would pay for the legal defense of one of the accused. Justice Ian Bruce Josephson put the trial on hold to October 14 as Ripudaman Singh Malik figures out how to pay his 11-person legal team. BizVantage – Beyond the news: indepth on business, investment and technology. Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri each face eight counts of murder and conspiracy in the deaths of 329 people June 23, 1985, in the bombing of an Air India flight and a related explosion that killed two baggage handlers. The adjournment delays key witnesses for the prosecution, most from outside this western Canadian city who have already waited weeks to testify. Although the trial is about half over, Malik, a millionaire businessman, is still wrangling over some 6 million Canadian dollars (4.4 million US dollars) in fees. The province of British Columbia already paid 3.7 million (2.7 million US dollars), but refuses to continue. Malik earlier tried to force provincial officials to pay, under a Canadian constitutional provision that entitles an accused to a fair trial with an adequate defense. Last month, the British Columbia Supreme Court rejected that claim. Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein noted that when Malik was charged two years ago he claimed a net worth of 12 million dollars (8.8 million US dollars). She said his current money shortage "is artificial and contrived." str-pjl/ceh Canada-India
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