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Scottish activist enduring 'psychological torture' in Indian jail

SHAMMI MEHRA/AFP via Getty Images Jagtar Singh Johal being escorted to a court in Ludhiana on 24 November 2017. He is wearing a dark blue hooded top with the hood up. Two men are in the foreground, one in a uniform and ther othey in a grey jacket, and there are a number of people in the background.SHAMMI MEHRA/AFP via Getty Images
Jagtar being escorted to a court in Ludhiana on 24 November 2017

A Scottish activist who has spent eight years in "arbitrary detention" in India is enduring "a form of psychological torture", United Nations experts have said.

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested by Indian authorities in 2017, just weeks after his wedding in the country, and has been detained there ever since.

The 39-year-old was acquitted last year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting a terror group, but he still faces federal charges by the Indian authorities.

Ten UN experts have now released a statement calling on the Indian government to drop the remaining charges and release Johal without delay.

The experts, who include members of a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, said there was no rationale for the continued detention of Jagtar Singh Johal, and that the case reflects a "profound miscarriage of justice".

In a statement they said: "International law is unequivocal: torture includes severe mental suffering caused by prolonged uncertainty while awaiting trial.

"Time is not neutral.

"The long wait for an outcome has already caused intolerable anxiety and stress, and constitutes an unacceptable harm prohibited under international human rights law."

Johal's imprisonment was recognised by a UN panel as arbitrary detention in 2022 and he has claimed to have been tortured.

Indian authorities have previously denied the torture claim and have repeatedly maintained due process is being followed.

Gupreet Singh Johal Gurpreet and Jagtar Singh Johal sit in a room with other Sikh men. Gurprret is wearing a royal blue turban and a light blue shirt and has a long, dark beard. Jagtar is smiling and wearing a white turban and a blue and white checked shirt.Gupreet Singh Johal
Jagtar Singh Johal (right) with his brother Gurpreet

The UN experts have sent a new communication about the case to the Indian authorities and said they will monitor developments.

The 10 experts are UN Special Rapporteurs - independent human rights specialists appointed by the UN Human Rights Council - and four four members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Johal's brother Gurpreet Singh Johal this week reiterated his calls for the UK government to take action to secure his sibling's release.

He said: "This is the strongest intervention yet from the UN. It is clear as day to legal experts that my brother should not be in prison and that keeping him there for eight years without any evidence is a terrible injustice."

Gupreet Singh Johal met Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in December.

Johal is represented in the UK by the legal charities Redress and Reprieve, which have also called for action from the UK government.

Rupert Skilbeck, director of Redress, said: "The UK government should be doing more to end this injustice against a British citizen."

Reprieve deputy chief executive Dan Dolan said: "This important intervention should be a wake-up call for the UK government, which is not doing nearly enough to help this young British man."

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: "We continue to raise concerns about Mr Johal's prolonged detention at every appropriate opportunity with the government of India, and we have made clear that faster progress is needed to reach a resolution, including a full investigation into Mr Johal's allegations of torture."