Next Wednesday marks 2000 days since Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was locked up amid accusations he was involved in a political murder plot in Punjab, northern India. But with major delays in the time prosecutors take to investigate – and more than 200 witnesses to speak to – his family estimate the 36-year-old will be in his seventies before the case is resolved.
His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal said just one witness out of 200 has been questioned so far and hearings are only taking place one day every eight weeks. As there are eight charges, each witness must be cross-examined eight times which means the whole process could take up to 40 years under the current timescales.
Gurpreet said: “We never thought that we’d still be in this position 2000 days later when Jagtar was first arrested. We just want this over and for him to come home.” Jaggi was imprisoned in Punjab after travelling there from Scotland for his wedding in 2017 and is currently suffering in awful prison conditions in Delhi.
His family insist he was detained and tortured over his activism and campaigning for Sikh human rights. But Indian officials have accused him of being involved in a murder plot and charged him under the country’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. His case was last year raised in Westminster but his family are urging them to do more. Gurpreet said: “If the Indians want they can make this case fast. It’s within the constitution.
“If the UK Government pushed them on it then it could be done but that isn’t happening.” Human rights organisation Reprieve has been working to campaign for his release.
Director Maya Foa said “justice delayed is justice denied” and that Indian prosecutors “have made an artform of stringing cases out for decades by calling hundreds of witnesses and contriving endless delays”. She added: “As United Nations experts have made clear, the legal proceedings against Jagtar are anything but fair. He is arbitrarily detained with no end in sight.
“Boris Johnson acknowledged this when he was Prime Minister but we have seen some alarming backsliding from the current UK Government, including on Jagtar’s torture.” She added: “The plain truth is that a blameless British citizen has been locked up in an Indian jail for five years and counting, and he will only be released when the UK Government intervenes decisively to bring him home.”
SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes, who is Jaggi’s MP, said the UK Government’s pursuit of a trade deal with India must be stopped until Jaggi is freed. He also called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to accept there was no credible reason for Jaggi’s detention, which he has refused to state despite it being accepted by his predecessor Boris Johnson.
He said: “The UK Government has massive questions to answer on why it appears to be going soft on the case. Their recent court submissions, stating that they didn’t believe Jagtar to have been tortured, was a slap in the face for his family.
“Tory Ministers continue to negotiate a free trade deal while my constituent languishes in prison. Continuing these negotiations while Jagtar’s human rights continue to be violated is unforgivable.”
The Foreign Office did not respond to requests for comment about Jaggi's case.
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