Westminster pressed to change approach to help free Dumbarton man Jagtar Singh Johal

The UK Government has been pressed to change its strategy to help free a Scottish Sikh blogger jailed in India for five years.

Jagtar Singh Johal of Dumbarton was arrested on November 4 2017 after travelling to the Punjab for his wedding, with local media linking his detention to the killing of Hindu leaders in the area.

The Sikh Federation (UK) says Mr Singh Johal was abducted by Indian plain clothes police officers while shopping with his wife Gurpreet Kaur.

Mr Singh Johal has repeatedly expressed allegations of torture and mistreatment by Indian authorities, and is at risk of the death penalty.

SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) told a House of Commons debate: "I want the Government to see through the speeches and interventions made in the House today that members across this House, across parties and across the nations of these islands have no intention of forgetting Jagtar Singh Johal.

"I want the UK Government to see that the choice they made not to deem his continued detention an arbitrary one, until recently, to not be without consequences.

"To see that even five years on we will be here and for another five years if that is indeed necessary. And, to once again, ask them through the minister to call for his immediate release."

Mr Docherty-Hughes stressed the UK Government is not the only "relevant party", adding: "The government of the Republic of India, its judiciary and its police forces, as I said, are the ones who continue to hold my constituent in a fashion that is consistent with arbitrary detention.

"I would like them to watch this debate today and recognise that this has not escaped international attention, nor will it going forward."

The MP noted that last May, when the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention submitted a report on the case, "they could not have been clearer" and found that Mr Singh Johal's detention was indeed arbitrary.

He added: "Neither the family or myself doubt the commitment of the Government to raise this often and at the highest levels. Yet here we are, five years on, very little movement in the case.

"Indeed, only one of the nine cases involving Jagtar has advanced in any meaningful way. The current approach simply isn't working."

He claimed that when Conservative former prime minister Boris Johnson conceded in a letter to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that it was the Government's view that Mr Singh Johal had been arbitrarily detained, "the family and all those many people interested in Jagtar's welfare naturally expected that this would be followed by action from the British government".

He added: "We know that the Government has called for the release of UK citizens arbitrarily detained abroad. Will they do so now for Jagtar?"

Mr Docherty-Hughes concluded his speech, saying: "We will not give up on Jagtar. It's time to set him free."

Replying for the Government, Foreign Office minister Leo Docherty said: "I recognise how incredibly difficult the past five years have been for Mr Johal, his family and his friends.

"We want to see a resolution to this protracted and complex case.

"So let me assure MPs that we are doing what we can at the highest levels to support Mr Johal and his family, and we will continue to do so."

MPs heard Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office's permanent under-secretary, raised the case with his Indian counterpart this week.

Mr Docherty was pressed on whether the UK accepts Mr Singh Johal is being arbitrarily detained, with the minister instead noting a UN panel issuing an opinion and it took this "very seriously".

Concluding the debate, Mr Docherty-Hughes said: "I think it is time, and I hope in our meeting with the Foreign Secretary next week, that what may not have been able to be spoken about in the chamber today may at least be able to be said privately."

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