US authorities thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil and issued a warning to India’s government over concerns it was involved in the plot, according to multiple people familiar with the case.

据多名知情人士透露,美国当局挫败了一起在美国领土上暗杀一名锡克教分离主义者的阴谋,并由于担心印度政府参与了这起阴谋,向印度政府发出警告。

The target of the plot was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American and Canadian citizen who is general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, a US-based group that is part of a movement pushing for an independent Sikh state called “Khalistan”.

这起阴谋的目标是拥有美国和加拿大双重国籍的古尔帕特旺·辛格·潘农,他是总部位于美国的“锡克教正义”组织的总法律顾问,该组织是一个旨在推动建立一个名为“哈利斯坦”的锡克教独立国家运动的组织。

The people familiar with the case, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the intelligence that prompted the warning, did not say whether the protest to New Delhi led the plotters to abandon their plan, or whether the FBI intervened and foiled a scheme already in motion.

由于提出这一警告的情报的敏感性,知情人士要求匿名。他们没有说明美国对新德里的这一抗议是否导致策划者放弃了他们的计划,也没有说明联邦调查局是否进行了干预并挫败了一项已经在进行中的计划。

The US informed some allies about the plot following the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist killed in Vancouver in June. In September, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” lixing New Delhi to Nijjar’s fatal shooting.

今年6月,加拿大锡克教分离主义者哈迪普·辛格·尼贾尔在温哥华被杀,美国随后向一些盟友通报了这一阴谋。今年9月,加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多表示,有“可信的指控”将新德里与尼贾尔的致命枪击事件联系起来。

The US justice department is debating whether to unseal the indictment and make the allegations public or wait until Canada finishes its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Further complicating the case, one person charged in the indictment is believed to have left the US, according to people familiar with the proceedings.

美国司法部正在讨论是公开起诉书并公开指控,还是等到加拿大完成对尼贾尔谋杀案的调查。知情人士称,令案件进一步复杂化的是,据信起诉书中被控的一人已离开美国。

The US justice department and FBI declined to comment. The National Security Council said the US does “not comment on ongoing law enforcement matters or private diplomatic discussions with our partners” but added: “Upholding the safety and security of US citizens is paramount”.

美国司法部和联邦调查局拒绝置评。美国国家安全委员会表示,美国“不对正在进行的执法事务或与合作伙伴的私下外交讨论发表评论”,但补充称:“维护美国公民的安全和保障至关重要”。

Washington shared details of the Pannun case with a wider group of allies after Trudeau went public with details of the Vancouver killing, the combination of which sparked concern among allies about a possible pattern of behaviour.

在特鲁多公开温哥华杀人事件的细节后,华盛顿与更多的盟友分享了潘农案的细节,这两件事的结合引发了盟友国家对一种可能的行为模式的担忧。

India has rejected Canada’s claims about New Delhi’s possible involvement in Nijjar’s murder as “absurd”.

印度驳斥了加拿大关于新德里可能参与尼贾尔谋杀案的说法,称其“荒谬”。

One person familiar with the situation said the US protest was issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a high-profile state visit to Washington in June.

一位知情人士表示,美国的抗议是在印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪今年6月对华盛顿进行高调国事访问后发出的。

Separate from the diplomatic warning, US federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged perpetrator of the plot in a New York district court, according to people familiar with the case.

据知情人士透露,除外交警告外,美国联邦检察官还向纽约一家地方法院提交了一份密封起诉书,针对至少一名涉嫌参与此次阴谋的人。

Modi’s office referred questions about the case to India’s external affairs ministry, which declined to comment.

莫迪的办公室将有关此案的问题转给了印度外交部,后者拒绝置评。

Contacted by the Financial Times, Pannun declined to say whether US authorities had warned him about the plot, saying he would “let the US government respond to the issue of threats to my life on American soil from the Indian operatives”.

在接受英国《金融时报》采访时,潘农拒绝透露美国当局是否曾就这一阴谋向他发出警告,他表示,他将“让美国政府对印度特工在美国领土上对我的生命构成威胁的问题作出回应”。

“The threat to an American citizen on American soil is a challenge to America’s sovereignty, and I trust that the Biden administration is more than capable to handle any such challenge,” Pannun told the FT.

“在美国领土上对美国公民发出威胁是对美国主权的挑战,我相信拜登政府完全有能力应对任何此类挑战,”潘农告诉英国《金融时报》。

Pannun angered Indian officials this month by issuing a video in which he warned Sikhs not to fly on Air India because it would be “life threatening”. He told the FT he was not making a violent threat against the airline.

潘农本月发布了一段视频,警告锡克教徒不要乘坐印度航空公司的飞机,因为这将“危及生命”,这激怒了印度官员。他告诉英国《金融时报》,他并没有对该航空公司进行暴力威胁。

Washington has urged India to help the Canadian investigation, but has avoided being too critical of New Delhi in public over the Vancouver case. The Biden administration views India — a member of the Quad security group along with Japan and Australia — as a critical part of a broader strategy to counter China.

华盛顿敦促印度帮助加拿大的调查,但避免在温哥华案上公开批评新德里。拜登政府把印度——与日本和澳大利亚一起是四方安全小组成员——视为美国更广泛的反华战略的重要组成部分。

Several people familiar with the debate inside the Biden administration said officials were aware that any public disclosure of the US plot, and Washington’s protest to New Delhi, would renew questions about India’s reliability as a trusted partner.

几位熟悉拜登政府内部辩论的人士表示,官员们意识到,美国对这起阴谋的任何公开披露,以及华盛顿对新德里的抗议,都将重新引发人们对印度作为一个可信赖伙伴的可靠性的质疑。

The Biden administration has faced criticism from human rights groups for its efforts to deepen relations with India.

拜登政府因努力加深与印度的关系而受到人权组织的批评。

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party is a Hindu nationalist party, and Modi has been accused by his political opponents and human rights groups of fomenting violence against religious and ethnic minorities in India.

印度执政党印度人民党是一个印度教民族主义政党,莫迪被他的政治对手和人权组织指责煽动针对印度宗教和少数民族的暴力。

The Indian prime minister was feted this summer in Washington, where he delivered a speech to Congress. Ahead of his visit, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden would raise human rights with Modi but said the US-India relationship would be “one of the defining relationships of the 21st century”.

今年夏天,印度总理在华盛顿受到了热烈欢迎,并在国会发表了演讲。在莫迪访问印度之前,美国国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文表示,拜登总统将向莫迪提出人权问题,但美印关系将是“21世纪决定性的关系之一”。

The FT previously reported that Biden raised the Canadian allegations with Modi at the G20 summit in India in September. The White House declined to say whether Biden raised the Pannun case with Modi in September.

英国《金融时报》此前报道称,拜登在9月份于印度举行的G20峰会上向莫迪提出了加拿大的指控。白宫拒绝透露拜登是否在9月份向莫迪提出了潘农案。

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