Case of Briton detained for eight years raised with Indian leader – PM

The case of a British citizen who has been locked in an Indian jail for eight years has been raised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Prime Minister discussed the imprisonment of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh activist from Dumbarton near Glasgow, with his Indian counterpart when the pair met on Thursday.

The meeting came as part of Sir Keir’s visit to India on a trade mission.

Asked by reporters about the case at a press conference on Thursday, the Prime Minister said: “We did raise the consular cases.

“We always raised them when we have the opportunity to do so.”

He added that the Foreign Secretary would also be meeting the families of Mr Johal and others “in the coming weeks”.

Mr Johal’s elder brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said: “Two days ago, the Prime Minister said he hadn’t forgotten Jagtar, but today, he didn’t even mention his name. That is hard to take.

“The lack of detail and the lack of progress is extremely disappointing for the family – especially Jagtar’s wife who will spend her eighth wedding anniversary without her husband.

“I will meet the Foreign Secretary next month and hopefully agree a plan of action.

“In the meantime I guess we just have to hope that when the Prime Minister says that he’s raising Jagtar’s case, that means he’s working to get him home. It would be shattering if this turns out to be more empty talk.”

Mr Johal, 38, was bundled into the back of an unmarked car and arrested in November 2017 in India, just weeks after his wedding there.

He has claimed to be subject to torture, and his imprisonment was recognised by a UN panel as arbitrary detention in 2022.

He was acquitted earlier this year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting a terror group, but he still faces federal charges from the Indian authorities.

Gurpreet Singh Johal previously urged the Prime Minister to give details about what raising his brother’s case means.

He told the PA news agency the recent high-profile releases of Alaa Abd-El Fattah from an Egyptian jail, and Barbie and Peter Reynolds from Taliban detention, provided fuel for Sir Keir to press for his brother to be freed.

Gurpreet Singh Johal warned his brother will “be an old man before he gets out of prison” unless the PM acts.

Legal campaign group Reprieve, which has been supporting Mr Johal’s family, also urged Sir Keir to ensure his Government does everything it can to secure the detained Briton’s release.

Reprieve deputy executive director Dan Dolan said: “To be honest the lack of tangible progress here is really disappointing – to Jagtar’s family, his supporters, and anyone who expects the British Government to stand up for its citizens.

“Raising the case is simply not enough when a young British human right defender is facing the death penalty based on a confession extracted under torture – he should be released and on a plane home.

“We have been here many times before, with prime ministers and foreign secretaries claiming to have ‘raised’ the case, but none of them got it done. Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper must succeed where their predecessors failed.”