Vol. 72/No. 1      January 7, 2008

Seattle cops put the attacker, Luis Vazquez, 20, into Singh’s cab after Vazquez had been ejected from Husky Stadium at the University of Washington during the Apple Cup game.

During the trip, Vazquez subjected Singh to obscenities and racist slurs, calling him “an Iraqi terrorist,” according to press reports. Singh had his turban torn off, hair ripped out, and was bitten and beaten by his attacker, until Singh was able to pull to the side of Interstate 5 to get out of his cab. A Metro bus driver who saw what was happening pulled over to block traffic to protect Singh; bus passengers made calls to 911.

Singh was hospitalized for kidney and respiratory damage caused by the attack.

Vazquez was charged with third-degree assault and malicious harassment, the state’s hate crime charge. Singh’s attorney, Hardeep Singh Rekhi, who is a volunteer with the Sikh Coalition, told the press that his organization, which opposes anti-Sikh chauvinism, is demanding that the attacker be prosecuted.

Other local Sikh cab drivers at the vigil reported similar incidents and say the true number is not known because the police often take hours to respond or never respond, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

There are an estimated 10,000 members of the Sikh religion in the Seattle area.  
 
 
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