Briton jailed in India after his wedding asks Foreign Secretary to help secure release

A British man who has been detained in India for more than eight years has revealed he is “trapped in a fractured country with a broken judicial system”. Her family and MP are now urging Yvette Cooper to bring her home during her visit this week.

Jagtar Singh Johal, 39, from Dumbarton, near Glasgow, has been held in India since his arrest by authorities in 2017. just a few weeks after the wedding there.

although was acquitted last year He continues to face federal charges stemming from the same charges by Indian authorities for financial support of a terrorist group.

UN experts condemned Mr Johal’s imprisonment, describing it as an example of arbitrary detention where a person is held without legal basis, and said he had been subjected to “a form of psychological torture”.

This development comes as Foreign Secretary Ms Cooper visits India this week for important talks on global security, following a trip to China. Consular staff recently briefed Mr Johal about the senior Cabinet minister’s upcoming visit to Delhi.

He was said to have responded with a message to the Secretary of State, telling them: “I’m stuck in a broken country with a broken judicial system.”

Ms Cooper will meet her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Johal’s Labor MP Douglas McAllister was among those who said it would not be enough for Ms Cooper to take her case to the Indian government.

The West Dunbartonshire MP said: “There can be no higher priority on this trip than securing the freedom of a young Brit who has been wrongfully imprisoned for almost nine years.

“I personally conveyed this situation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and emphasized the need for urgent action.

“It is not enough to raise the case or call for faster progress: following his acquittal in Punjab, all remaining charges against Jagtar Singh Johal must be dropped so he can return home to Dumbarton.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Johal’s older brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said he wanted to see the Secretary of State adopt a plan aimed at securing his release, which the family discussed at a meeting with Ms. Cooper last year.

He said: “Every time a Foreign Secretary goes to India for meetings, part of me believes that Jagtar will be on the flight home with them. We look for small signs of progress and reasons for hope, and each time the disappointment is overwhelming.”

“When I met Yvette Cooper last year, we presented a clear plan to bring Jagtar home; this visit is her chance to make that happen. She has all the tools to succeed where seven other foreign ministers have failed. It would be devastating to hear the same weak excuses again.”

Mr Johal’s family has been supported in their campaign to secure his release by campaign group Reprieve, which has consistently insisted that Indian authorities have no case against him.

Dan Dolan, executive vice president of Reprieve, said: “Last year an Indian court acquitted Jagtar of all charges for lack of evidence, but he remains detained over eight zombie cases based on the same allegation and the same torture confession.

“Such double jeopardy is prohibited in the Indian constitution and international law.

“As UN legal experts have recently communicated to Indian officials, the only fair solution is to drop the charges and release Jagtar immediately. It is time for the Secretary of State to negotiate with his Indian counterparts and get this done.”

Mr Johal’s case is not the only example of a British national imprisoned abroad that the Foreign Secretary has faced pressure to bring up during his trip to Asia.

While in China, Ms Cooper vowed to continue to raise the case of detained British national Jimmy Lai with the Chinese government, amid opposition calls for his release by Beijing.

A “really important” working relationship has been established between Britain and China after years of frosty relations, the Foreign Secretary said as he wrapped up his two-day visit to the country.

But he has faced pressure to take a tougher stance on Beijing over national security and human rights concerns, including the detention of pro-democracy campaigner Mr Lai.

The State Department has been contacted for comment.