A SCOTTISH Sikh detained in India for seven years has been acquitted in one case against him – though still faces the threat of the death penalty.
Dumbarton man Jagtar Singh Johal has been cleared of terrorist charges by a court in Punjab, but still faces either other “essentially duplicate” cases, with the most severe penalty being execution.
Johal, also known as Jaggi, faces accusations he funded a terrorist plot which resulted in a series of attacks in Punjab, a state in northwest India, in 2016-17.
The court rejected the arguments, with the human rights charity Reprieve saying that prosecutors had failed to provide any “credible evidence” to support their claims he had transferred money to terrorists.
The anti-death penalty charity have said that the Indian National Investigation Agency’s cases against Johal are based on a confession he wrote after being tortured by police officers who electrocuted him and threatened to set him on fire.
Johal’s brother Gurpreet Singh Johal (above) said the Punjabi court’s verdict proved the charges against his brother were “baseless” and the case “exposed as a fabrication”. His supporters have long held that Johal faces religious prosecution in India because he is Sikh.
He added: “Jagtar has not been able to hug his wife for seven years. All this time, he’s been locked up in an Indian jail for something he didn’t do. I will only believe this nightmare is over when he’s here with us at home, but today feels like a significant moment. Surely, the UK Government recognises that this injustice cannot continue?”
Johal’s MP, Douglas McAllister, said: “The Government must act now to secure Jagtar’s release. This is a unique opportunity to secure a resolution with the Indian authorities and bring this young British man back to his family in Dumbarton.
“Without decisive diplomatic action, he faces being imprisoned for decades while the remaining trials drag on, despite the complete lack of credible evidence against him.”
Reprieve deputy executive director Dan Dolan said: “For Jagtar to remain imprisoned and facing a death sentence after this acquittal would be a mockery of justice.
“The eight essentially duplicate cases against him flagrantly violate the ‘double jeopardy’ principle, which protects people from being put on trial twice for the same crime and is enshrined in both international law and India’s constitution. The remaining cases against him should be dropped, and Jagtar set free.”
The UK Government was approached for comment.
