Jagtar Singh Johal: Nearly 120 MPs and peers call on UK government to secure release of detained Scot

Nearly 120 MPs and peers have called on the UK government to make “all diplomatic efforts” to secure the urgent release of a Scot who has been imprisoned in India without trial for more than seven years

The group of 117 parliamentarians have written to foreign secretary David Lammy, stressing “the time has now come to act quickly” to bring Jagtar Singh Johal home to his family in West Dunbartonshire.

The 37-year-old was arrested after attending his wedding in Punjab in northern India in November 2017, since which time he has been held over alleged terror offences in the country.

The United Nations working group on arbitrary detention has said that there is no legal basis for Mr Johal’s continued detention. Picture: Family handout/PA Wire | PA

The central allegation is that he transferred money in the knowledge it would be used to fund a series of attacks against Hindu nationalists and other religious leaders in Punjab. But Mr Johal and his family have long maintained his innocence, and say he was subjected to a coerced confession before being confronted with further charges.

The Sikh activist claims to have been beaten and tortured by Indian police, alleging officers attached electrodes to his ear, nipples and genitals, and threatened to burn him alive. The United Nations working group on arbitrary detention warned three years ago there was no legal basis for Mr Johal's continued detention.

In March, the campaign to secure Mr Johal’s release achieved a breakthrough after he was acquitted on all charges in the first case against him. But he faces eight other trials, which the human rights group Reprieve, described as “essentially duplicate”.

Mr Lammy has agreed to meet Mr Johal’s brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, for a second time, on May 8. But ahead of that appointment, the cross-party group of MPs and peers said it was vital the government acted promptly.

Jagtar Singh Johal (Jaggi) protest at the London Indian Consulate in 2018. | Getty

“It has been proved by the March court judgement that the Indian authorities have no credible evidence to present in relation to the other outstanding cases, and the confessional statement obtained by torture and death threats has been thrown out,” their letter stated.

“The time has now come to act quickly and decisively. With the acquittal, we now have an opportunity to hold urgent diplomatic discussions with your Indian counterparts.”

Labour’s Douglas McAllister, Mr Johal’s MP, said: “The extent of cross-party support across both houses is very significant. The failure to grant bail to my constituent, Jagtar Singh Johal, serves to demonstrate the need for greater urgency by the foreign secretary and the UK government to secure my constituent’s immediate release and his return to his family.”

Dan Dolan, deputy executive director of Reprieve, said: “The previous UK government wasted years of Jagtar’s life, hiding behind the fiction that due process is possible in a case based on a torture confession. This is a politically motivated prosecution of a young British human rights defender, and the process is the punishment.

“Jagtar has been found not guilty once, after prosecutors failed to present any credible evidence against him in seven years. For him to remain imprisoned for decades, as duplicate trials drag on in defiance of the principle of double jeopardy, would be an obscene injustice.

“It is time for the government to act on its strong statements in opposition and do what it takes to bring Jagtar home.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: “We welcome the recent progress in the case.

“The UK Government remains committed to working for faster progress on Jagtar’s case, and the FCDO continue to work to support Mr Johal and his family.”