Boris Johnson Says Jagtar Johal Has Been 'Arbitrarily' Detained by Indian Govt

The UK PM's acknowledgement came in a letter addressed to Leader of the Opposition Sir Kier Starmer.

Jagtar Singh Johal.

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram/@freejagginow)

For the first time in the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has acknowledged that the Scottish Sikh man's detention in India is "arbitrary."

The acknowledgement came in a letter addressed to the Leader of the Opposition, Sir Kier Starmer.

In response to Johnson's letter, Starmer said, "I am pleased the British government has recognised that the unlawful detention of Jagtar in India is arbitrary and is committed to raising this case at the highest possible level."

"Time is of the essence and Labour is urging the government to use every possible measure in the coming days to pressure Indian authorities for Jagtar's release," he added.

Jagtar Singh Johal's brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, who spoke to The Quint last month at length about this brother's detention, said that he met the leader of the opposition and "was grateful for Kier's intervention."

'A Breakthrough Moment': Gurpreet Johal Tells The Quint

"I was grateful for Keir's intervention and for him to meet earlier today. He very quickly understood that time is of the essence and if the UK Government do not act then a British national could be given the death penalty based on false allegations and manufactured charges," Gurpreet Singh Johal, who is a solicitor and a local councillor in Scotland, told The Quint.

"This is a breakthrough moment. I will never forget that it took the UK Government almost five years to acknowledge that my brother is arbitrarily detained, or that they only did so after a nudge from the United Nations and the leader of the opposition, but at least they got there in the end. The next step is to demand his release and bring him home," he added.

The Story of Jagtar Singh Johal

A Scottish Sikh man from Dumbarton, Jagtar was arrested in 2017 a few days after his wedding for allegedly funding terrorism and playing a role in the targeted killings of some Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders. Jagtar's case has been raised by the United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which asserts that he has been detained "arbitrarily."

The panel has argued that the "continued pre-trial detention of Mr Johal lacks legal basis, and is arbitrary," and that there is "no judicially admissible evidence against Johal, despite intelligence agencies having over three years to investigate."

The Indian government has alleged his role in the targeted killings of people affiliated with the RSS from April 2016 to October 2017.

It said that Johal's arrest and detention were based on "sufficient prosecutable evidence."

The problem is that the "sufficient prosecutable evidence" has not led to the commencement of a trial against him. Even the charges are yet to be framed by the court, despite Jagtar Johal being locked up for four and a half years.

On 4 November 2017, Jagtar Johal was out shopping with his wife and his cousin. They were travelling by car in Jalandhar when it was intercepted and stopped at a busy road. He was taken out of the car, hooded, and then taken away, according to his brother, Gurpreet Johal.

Jagtar Johal's first court appearance, according to his brother, was on 14 November 2017. This was when he had told his advocate about "the third-degree torture that he had suffered in police custody."

Click here to know more about Jagtar Johal and where his case stands, in The Quint's interview with Gurpreet Johal.