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Arrest of Jagtar Singh Johal

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The arrest of Jagtar Singh Johal is a detainment that occurred in November 2017 in Punjab, India. According to the human rights organisation Reprieve, UK spy agencies tipped off their Indian counterparts about a key man, "Johal", who was currently in India.[1]

Arrest

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Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in India in 2017. According to the United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Johal has been detained "arbitrarily" and should be released immediately. Following their investigations, the UN group concluded that Johal's detention without trial was "on discriminatory grounds, owing to his status as a human rights defender and based on his political activism, religious faith and opinions," something Johal's family have asserted since he was first arrested in 2017.[2] Jagtar Singh Johal told the BBC that he had been tortured and forced to sign false confessions, although the BCC could not verify the allegations of torture. The Indian government denied any mistreatment or torture in this case.[3] Jagtar Singh Johal is accused for the involvement in the murders of Brigadier (retd) Jagdish Gagneja, RSS leader Ravinder Gosain and Pastor Sultan Masih[4] and for funding of the terrorist organization Khalistan Liberation Force in November 2017, for which there is no judicially admissible evidence against him, despite intelligence agencies having over three years to investigate.[5] Johal has not been brought to trial.

Johal is currently being held at Tihar jail and has yet to face trial despite being in Indian custody since 2017.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Reason for arrest

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The Indian authorities have not yet provided Johal's lawyer with evidence linking him to any crimes, thereby making it impossible for Johal to be brought to trial. Johal's lawyer alleges there is no such evidence, implying that the Indian authorities are deliberately and illegally detaining Johal. While in custody, Johal was also charged with another crime.[13]

His family allege that he was falsely detained and forced to sign blank statements and face torture in prison.[14] Police have denied these claims and termed them "emotional drama", noting that anyone suffering the extent of torture alleged by Johal would have succumbed to his wounds.[15][14][8] International and Sikh human rights groups in Punjab and the diaspora, as well as over 140 UK Members of Parliament (MPs), including the former Brexit secretary David Davis; the former international development secretary Hilary Benn; the father of the house, Sir Peter Bottomley; the SNP leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford; Sheffield's mayor, Dan Jarvis; the former Foreign Office minister Lord Hain; the former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell; and Andrew Rosindell, a Conservative member of the foreign affairs select committee have written to Dominic Raab urging him to do more to secure the release of Johal. They are concerned over Johal's detention and allegations of brutal treatment towards Johal - the Indian police have been accused of torturing him whilst in custody.[16][14] The Indian government has cited significant Khalistani outreach towards Indian-origin British MPs for their support towards Johal and insisted that their opposition is based on appeasing sentiments of large voting blocs.

Situation as of August 2023

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Johal's case had now been forwarded to the UN's Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment for further investigation. A UK government spokesperson said: "We have consistently raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case with the government of India, including his allegations of torture and mistreatment and his right to a fair trial.[17]

Jagtar Singh Johal was an accused in 11 cases out of which he has been discharged in 1 case and has been granted bail in 3 other cases. One of his bail applications (RC No. 24/2017/NIA/DLI - Attempt of Killing) was initially denied by an NIA Special Judge, but this order was reversed on appeal by the High Court of Haryana and Punjab.[18][19] That decision of the High Court was appealed by the NIA, but the High Court's judgement was upheld by the Supreme Court of India, quashing the order denying bail on that charge.[20][21] Although Johal is now eligible for bail on that case, his full release is still reportedly precluded by charges in other cases.[22]

UK Intelligence Services involvement

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On 22 August 2022, it was reported by The Times that MI5 and MI6 staff supplied information that led to the alleged torture of a British citizen in India, apparently in breach of Britain's commitment to human rights.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Jagtar Singh Johal case: UK spy agencies accused of tip-off that led to torture". BBC News. 2022-08-22. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  2. ^ "No legal basis to detain Scot in India - UN group". BBC News. 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  3. ^ "Jagtar Singh Johal: British man 'tortured to sign blank confession' in India". BBC News. 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  4. ^ "NIA again gets Jaggi's custody for five days". Manish Sirhindi. The Times of India. 17 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  5. ^ Taylor-Potts, Harriet (2022-09-02). "Jagtar Singh Johal has been wrongly detained in India for almost five years. Read on to find out more about Jagtar Singh Johal's story and the latest news on his case". Reprieve. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  6. ^ "Targeted killings in Punjab: UK resident Johal was on police radar for a year". Ravinder Vasudeva. Hindustan Times. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal filmed in police custody". BBC News. 9 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Detained Sikh activist's family speak out". BBC News. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Targeted killings: Jagtar Singh Johal remanded in three-day custody of NIA". 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  10. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Police delay chargesheet in arms case, Johal gets bail". Tribuneindia News Service. Archived from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  11. ^ "The imprisonment of Jagtar Singh Johal". House of Commons Library. 18 January 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "Jagtar Singh Johal". February 6, 2024.
  13. ^ "Jagtar Singh Johal: British man 'tortured to sign blank confession' in India". BBC News. January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Why diaspora Sikhs are fighting to 'Free Jaggi'". Navjeevan Gopal. The Indian Express. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Why are Indian officials banned from Sikh Gurdwaras?". Al Jazeera. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  16. ^ Duttagupta, Ishani (26 November 2017). "Jagtar Singh Johal: A Scottish Sikh in a Punjab jail". Ishani Duttagupta. The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  17. ^ "UN group: No legal basis for Jagtar Singh Johal's detention in India". BBC News. 8 May 2022.
  18. ^ "document". indiankanoon.org.
  19. ^ "cannot be reached" (PDF). nia.gov.in. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "Supreme Court of India Record of Proceedings" (PDF). api.sci.gov.in. 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  21. ^ "'Major breakthrough' in Jagtar Singh Johal case after court ruling". 8 August 2023.
  22. ^ "SCI Dismisses NIA's Appeal Against Bail to Jagtar Singh Jaggi Johal". 8 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Jagtar Singh Johal: Briton tortured after spy chiefs' tip-off". The Times. 22 August 2022.
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