The brother of a Dumbarton man who has been imprisoned in India for over four years has told of his new hope after a meeting was secured with the Foreign Secretary.
Gurpreet Singh Johal hopes the talks with Liz Truss will help the plight of his brother Jagtar Singh Johal, 35, who is accused of involvement in terror offences, which he vigorously denies.
They say he has never been formally charged and are awaiting the outcome of “crucial” court hearings next month which they say could result in him being discharged from cases.
The meeting was secured by West Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty-Hughes following the return home to the UK of British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who had been detained in Iran for six years.
She was detained at Tehran Airport in 2016 and accused of attempting to overthrow the Iranian Government, a charge she has always denied.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement afterwards that she made resolving the continued detention of British nationals one of her “top priorities” when entering office in September last year.
Gurpreet says the case has also given him hope, telling the Lennox Herald: “It’s been brilliant hearing of Nazanin being released.
“It shouldn’t have taken as long as this.
“Given it’s nearly 1600 days since Jagtar was arbitrarily detained the UK Government has not been calling for his release which they have been doing for Nazanin.
“We want to know exactly what they have been doing.
“We have made various requests for meetings with previous foreign secretaries but none of them have agreed so welcome this meeting and we are looking forward to hearing what she is going to tell us.
“Martin Docherty-Hughes has taken every opportunity to raise Jagtar’s case in parliament and we are really grateful for that.”
Former Our Lady and St Patrick’s pupil Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested on November 4, 2017 after travelling to the Punjab for his wedding, with local media linking his detention to the killing of Hindu leaders in the area.
He vehemently denies the allegations and has expressed claims of torture and mistreatment by Indian authorities.
Gurpreet told how next month will be vital and could see his brother either be charged or discharged, adding: “There are hearings taking place in Delhi in April which are going to be crucial and we hope the meeting will take place before that.
“He has still not been formally charged on any of the cases and they have been languishing for the last three years. It’s been delay after delay.”
The SNP MP is Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance and met previously with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard Ratcliffe.
He said seeing Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe reunited with her family gave real hope to Jagtar and other families with loved ones unjustly imprisoned
abroad.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, he challenged Ms Truss to step-up support for the families of other UK nationals arbitrarily detained abroad, pressing her to meet with him and the family of Jagtar.
He said: “I was interested to hear the Foreign Secretary talk about arbitrary detention and how we can work with other countries to ensure that not only dual nationals or tri nationals, but full UK nationals are not arbitrarily detained, no matter our friendships with countries.
“Will the Foreign Secretary consider meeting me and the family of Jagtar Singh Johal to understand the issue of arbitrary detention for other states? It would be a most welcome deliberation for the future.”
In response, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss agreed to a meeting, saying: “As I’ve said previously, I have raised the specific case of Jagtar Singh Johal, but I would be happy to meet the honourable gentleman to discuss it further.”
