Freed political prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has joined hundreds of protestors at Downing Street demanding the UK Government bring home detained Scottish Sikh Jagtar Singh Johal from India.
The demonstration in London marked five years since the 35-year-old, known as Jaggi, from Dumbarton was arrested. His family claim he was bundled into an unmarked car when he was in Punjab in northern India for his wedding in 2017.
The UK citizen says he has been detained and subjected to torture, including electric shocks, and faces the death penalty over his activism and campaigning for Sikh human rights as a blogger.
Nazanin, who was released from prison in Iran earlier this year, was joined by her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who criticised the UK Government for taking too long to free British citizens being tortured abroad.
He said in speech to the crowd: “Nazanin is thankfully now back in the UK and here today. Part of the reason for us being here is as a visible source of hope. It is tough, it is brutal, there are scars, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“Just knowing as a family that you’re not alone, that there are lots of ordinary people up and down the country who care, who see the injustice and stand together makes all the difference.
“This is a systemic problem. There are a approximately 100 British citizens being tortured abroad each year. How many have you heard of? You’ve heard of Jaggi’s case, you’ve heard of Nazanin’s, but probably not any others. The Government took a long time to work on our case, it’s taking a very long time in Jaggi’s case, and it’s only by making noise that you get protection for British citizens.”
Jagtar has been imprisoned without trial for almost five years, making countless appearances in court. A panel of UN legal experts has found that his detention is arbitrary, and former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, acknowledged that there is no legal basis for Jagtar's imprisonment.
British spies at MI5 and MI6 were accused of supplying information in August that led to the abduction and alleged torture of Jagtar. Lawyers for the Scot have lodged a complaint after human rights group Reprieve identified his case among anonymised details published in the annual report by the UK’s investigatory powers commissioner.
Jagtar's brother Gurpreet also spoke to the crowd, leading the chant: "Free Jaggi, Free Jaggi, Free Jaggi." He said: “The British government have wronged Jagtar and many other British citizens detained abroad. We cannot let this keep happening.
“A British national, born and bred in the UK, in detention in an Indian prison for 5 years without conviction. This is the state of affairs with the UK government, and they may have even hand a hand in his abduction and torture.
“Thank you for being here. You are all helping to make sure the British Government, that have let us down for the last five years, do not keep doing this, and you all show Jaggi that he is not alone.”
The UK Government's response to Jagtar's case has been described as deafening by his campaigners.
Dan Dolan, Deputy Director of human rights charity Repreive, said: “Five years is too long, five Foreign Secretaries is too many, and enough is enough.
“Jagtar’s release has been demanded by the United Nations, the Scottish Government, Her Majesty’s Opposition, more than a hundred parliamentarians, and scores of human rights experts. In the face of this, the silence from Downing Street is deafening.
“Rishi Sunak is the fourth Prime Minister to take on Jagtar’s case: it’s time for him to finally take action, and Free Jaggi Now.”
The Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We have consistently raised our concerns about Mr Johal’s case directly with the Government of India, including his allegations of torture and his right to a fair trial and we are committed to doing what we can to assist him.
“The Foreign Secretary visited India and raised his case with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on 29 October.
“The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle and we will continue to make this clear to the Government of India.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
