UN experts warn Scot's prolonged detention amounts to psychological torture
Call for India to drop remaining charges against Jagtar Singh Johal
A group of United Nations human rights experts have called for the urgent release of a Scottish man who has been arbitrarily detained in India for more than eight years.
The UN experts said there was “no rationale” for the continued detention of Jagtar Singh Johal, and warned that he was enduring “unlawful suffering” and a form of “psychological torture” as a result of the prolonged uncertainty.
Mr Johal, from Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire, was arrested after attending his wedding in Punjab in northern India in November 2017, since which time he has been held over alleged terror offences in the country.
The central allegation is that he transferred money in the knowledge the money would be used to fund a series of attacks against Hindu nationalists and other religious leaders in Punjab. But Mr Johal and his family have long maintained his innocence, and say he was subjected to a coerced confession before being confronted with a slew of further charges.
The Sikh activist claims to have been beaten and tortured by Indian police, alleging officers attached electrodes to his ear, nipples and genitals, and threatened to burn him alive. The UN working group on arbitrary detention warned four years ago there was no legal basis for the 38 year-old’s continued detention.
Now, a wider group of UN experts - including Alice Jill Edwards, the special rapporteur on torture; Nazila Ghanea, the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; and Nicolas Levrat, the special rapporteur on minority issues - have condemned the approach taken by Indian authorities.
In the first case against him to reach a verdict, in March 2025, Mr Johal was acquitted of all charges by a court in Punjab. The court found that prosecutors had “miserably failed” to present any reliable evidence despite having had over seven years to develop their case.
Despite his acquittal, he faces eight essentially duplicate cases filed by India’s National Investigation Agency, all based on the same purported confession printed on a sheet of paper he says he signed after police tortured him and threatened to burn him alive.
“The fact that he was acquitted, yet still faces near-identical charges, raises serious concerns about double jeopardy, the presumption of innocence, the misuse of counter-terrorism laws, and the integrity of the proceedings,” the UN experts said. “This is not simply delay – it points to deeper dysfunction in the administration of justice.”
According to recent reports, Mr Johal’s conditions have worsened. He has faced restrictions on contact with his family, with limited access to basic hygiene, and periods of solitary confinement.
The UN experts added: “International law is unequivocal: torture includes severe mental suffering caused by prolonged uncertainty while awaiting trial. It also prohibits the use of evidence obtained through torture in proceedings, and requires prompt, transparent and fair trials.
“This case represents the cumulative impact of injustice. The reliance on contested evidence, multiplication of proceedings on near-identical charges, allegations that he was targeted because of his faith, his continued arbitrary detention and the absence of accountability for torture allegations reflect a profound miscarriage of justice.”
Mr Johal’s brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said: “This is the strongest intervention yet from the UN. It is clear as day to legal experts that my brother should not be in prison and that keeping him there for eight years without any evidence is a terrible injustice.
“The foreign secretary talks about respecting India’s ‘independent legal system’ when the truth is that my brother is trapped in a hell of endless hearings where no evidence is presented against him and no progress made.
“Last time a group of UN experts called for Jagtar to be released, Sir Keir Starmer strongly agreed and wrote to Boris Johnson to say so. Now he is prime minister himself, will he do everything in his power to get my brother home? When Jagtar was fully acquitted of all charges in the first case against him, we put forward a clear strategy to the UK government to secure his release, but it’s been more than a year and they haven’t done it - all I hear is the same old excuses for their failure to act.”
Dan Dolan, deputy CEO at the human rights group, Reprieve, said: “This important intervention should be a wake-up call for the UK government, which is not doing nearly enough to help this young British man. While in opposition Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow foreign secretary endorsed the UN's call for Jagtar to be released, and agreed the UK should work for this outcome, but they haven't followed through.
“No prosecution that begins with a torture ‘confession’ can ever result in a fair trial, and the remaining zombie cases against Jagtar essentially duplicate the one he has been acquitted in - a clear example of double jeopardy.”
Rupert Skilbeck, director of Redress, added: “The UN experts have joined a growing number of voices highlighting the flawed proceedings against Jagtar Singh Johal and how he has been targeted for his activism in India. Legal experts have found his detention lacks legal basis, and there are credible allegations he was forced to confess under torture, evidence that is inadmissible in any court.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We continue to raise concerns about Mr Johal’s prolonged detention at every appropriate opportunity with the government of India, and we have made clear that faster progress is needed to reach a resolution, including a full investigation into Mr Johal’s allegations of torture.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.