- Sunday, April 20, 2025
The former PM, however, said he would avoid seeking the Scot’s release actively as that could mean interference in another country’s legal process.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AMID a growing concern to free Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been jailed in India for more than six years for his alleged involvement with the Pakistani intelligence agency and targeted murder of a number of members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, British foreign secretary David Cameron has vowed to assist the Scottish man imprisoned in India for over six years and has committed to pushing for an investigation into allegations of torture against him.
Johal, who is in his late 30s, was arrested, hooded, and forcibly taken into custody in the northern state of Punjab in 2017 while visiting the country for his wedding. He has been accused in the assassination of among others, Ravinder Gosain, a Hindu nationalist leader who was fatally shot.
Johal, a blogger and political activist hailing from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, has been an advocate for the rights of India’s Sikh minority. He maintains his innocence and claims he was coerced into signing blank documents.
Read: Jagtar Singh Johal’s kin hope new foreign secretary Cameron can get him released from Indian jail
The Times UK accessed letters in which Johal claimed how he was tortured with electrodes attached to his nipples and genitals. He was also threatened to be shot or burned alive if he did not confess.
Cameron, a former prime minister who took over as the foreign secretary from James Cleverly, said he has written to Johal’s brother Gurpreet and the SNP MP for West Dunbartonshire, Martin Docherty-Hughes, promising his support in the case.
Read: Raised Jagtar Singh Johal’s case with Modi: Sunak
“As foreign secretary I am committed to seeing a resolution to Mr Johal’s case. The UK government has consistently raised our concerns about his case,” he wrote, the Times reported.
Cameron said that prime minister Rishi Sunak brought up Johal’s case with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India for the G20 summit last September. Also Lord Ahmad, the minister of state for South Asia, took up the case with the Indian consul-general in Edinburgh in August 2023 and with the Indian external affairs minister in November.
Cameron said he would urge the Modi government to look into allegations that Johal faced serious abuse and human rights violations.
“As well as the need for a resolution in the case, which must include investigations into Mr Johal’s allegations of torture, we have been clear in the need for the implementation of a 18 November court order, mandating family video calls for Mr Johal,” Cameron penned in his note. “I recognise what a difference these video calls could make to you and your brother.”
While the foreign secretary said he hoped to meet a representative of Johal’s family and that London will continue to raise its concerns about Johal’s case with New Delhi whenever it finds the right opportunity, he also said that he would not actively seek Johal’s release as that might be seen as an interference in India’s judicial process and could hit Britain’s ability to offer the accused consular assistance.
Pressure was building on the Sunak government over the release of Johal’s release. Gurpreet Singh Johal, who has expressed his displeasure over London’s handling of the case in the past, accused Cameron of failing his incarcerated brother and even failing to muster courage to take up the case.
“I’m sure consular staff do care about Jagtar’s welfare but demanding tiny improvements to his living conditions while he rots away in prison is a pathetic response to the arbitrary detention of a British national,” he was quoted as saying by The Times.
“They need to get him out and bring him home. Nothing else is good enough.”
Melissa Dring, head of policy at human rights organisation Reprieve which has campaigned for Johal’s release, told the news website, “The UK government continues to come up with excuses for its failure to act.
She said a young Scot is confined around the clock in a cell without windows, confronting potential capital punishment on fabricated political accusations, while government officials seemingly shy away from seeking his freedom, fearing it might upset Indian authorities.
She added that in each communication with Johal’s family, “this is the shameful truth between the lines: they refuse to do what it takes to bring him home.”
