Family of Scottish man detained in India says his life depends on new foreign secretary’s intervention

The brother of a Scottish man jailed in India for six years and facing terrorism charges has called on foreign secretary David Cameron to secure his release.

Jagtar Singh Johal, 36, was "arbitrarily detained" from India's northern state of Punjab in 2017 for allegedly being associated with the banned Sikh separatist group Khalistani Liberation Force.

Family members claimed the Dumbarton-based "campaigner for Sikh human rights" was bundled into an unmarked car and since has been subjected to torture, including electric shocks, during his time in prison. The Indian government has denied he was tortured or mistreated.

UK intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 have been accused of tipping off the Indian officials that led to his arrest.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak reportedly raised Mr Johal's case with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi this September. Since then there has been no change in India's stance on the Sikh activist.

Now his brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, has said he hoped the new foreign secretary would make a difference where successive British governments have failed.

"We’re hopeful that this foreign secretary, well first of all he has to meet us to confirm exactly what he is going to be doing to bring Jagtar back home, but really enough is enough because this government has really let down Jagtar and his family over the last six years," the brother told BBC Radio Scotland.

He said the family was hopeful Lord Cameron would be able to leverage his experience and long-standing diplomatic relationships to call for the Briton's release.

"... because the UK government has a policy and the policy is if you are arbitrarily detained, which the UN working group on detention has found, that you should be calling for release.

“We’re hopeful that the sixth foreign secretary after six years might do something that the other foreign secretaries have failed to do," he added.

The UN working group on arbitrary detention in May 2022 found that Mr Johal's arrest was in breach of human rights law.

Gurpreet Singh Johal said he last spoke to his brother on his sibling’s wedding anniversary in October. “He is hopeful in the next six months or so that he could at least be out on bail but that’s as much as I know because I don’t know what situation he is in.

“He is trying to put light at the end of the tunnel by thinking that he will be out in the next six months at least on bail,” he added.

He separately wrote a letter to Lord Cameron, urging him to take "robust action" in order to secure his brother's release.

Mr Johal has been detained for 2,208 days and could face the death penalty if convicted.

“The bottom line is my brother’s life depends on what David Cameron decides to do and whether he decides to call for Jagtar’s release to bring him back home.”

In his letter to Lord Cameron, Gurpreet Singh Johal added: “Jagtar is a British citizen, born and raised in Scotland, arbitrarily detained abroad on politically motivated charges and facing a possible death sentence.

“It must be a priority for the UK government to resolve his case and bring him home.”

Mr Johal was initially arrested in connection with an arms recovery case but later named in seven targeted attack cases, five of them being murder charges related to the separatist movement.

“A total 11 cases have been registered against Jaggi Johal in India – eight of which are being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), two by Punjab Police and one by Delhi Police Special Cell,” his lawyer told the Indian Express newspaper last year.

“The UK government is committed to seeing Jagtar Singh Johal’s case resolved as soon as possible,” a spokesperson told PA news agency.

“We continue to provide consular assistance to Mr Johal and his family and have consistently raised his case directly with the government of India.”