A HUMAN rights group and an SNP MP have both slammed Boris Johnson for his response to the detainment and torture of Jagtar Singh Johal.
Originally from Dumbarton, Johal was in Punjab in Northern India in 2017 when his family say he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car.
On Tuesday, human rights group Reprieve accused British intelligence agencies of sharing information about Johal with the Indian government which ultimately led to his arrest.
Boris Johnson said he had raised Johal’s case during a trip to India in April.
Director of Reprieve Maya Foa said: “It was already a scandal that, when a British national was snatched off the street by Indian authorities while on his honeymoon, Boris Johnson left him to rot for five years before finally admitting he was being arbitrarily detained."
This year, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined Johal’s detention “lacks legal basis” and was based on “discriminatory grounds” owing to his Sikh faith and his “status as a human rights defender”.
Foa added: “Now it appears the UK Government hasn’t just been negligent but may have unlawfully enabled his abduction and brutal torture through a tip-off to the Indian authorities.
“The very least we can expect of our Government is not to share intelligence that leads to us being detained and tortured overseas.”
The UN concluded that the appropriate resolution would be to release Johal immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.
Johal said he has been detained and subject to torture, including electric shocks, and faces the death penalty over his activism and campaigning for Sikh human rights.
SNP MP for West Dunbartonshire Martin Docherty-Hughes reacted to the news on Good Morning Scotland.
He said: “What I find extraordinary is the present Prime Minister, only a few weeks ago before Parliament went into recess, made it clear that he believes that Jagtar’s detention is arbitrary.”
Docherty-Hughes said his constituent has never faced any charges, adding: “He’s now been languishing in an Indian jail for nearly five years come November.
“That says to me that there is no case to answer.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment while legal proceedings are active.”
