Detained Scot enduring 'psychological torture' in Indian jail

A Scottish activist who has spent eight years in "arbitrary detention" in India is enduring "a form of psychological torture", United Nations experts have said.

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested by Indian authorities in 2017, just weeks after his wedding in the country, and has been detained there ever since.

The 39-year-old was acquitted last year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting a terror group, but he still faces federal charges by the Indian authorities.

Ten UN experts have now released a statement calling on the Indian government to drop the remaining charges and release Johal without delay.

The experts, who include members of a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, said there was no rationale for the continued detention of Jagtar Singh Johal, and that the case reflects a "profound miscarriage of justice".

In a statement they said: "International law is unequivocal: torture includes severe mental suffering caused by prolonged uncertainty while awaiting trial.

"Time is not neutral.

"The long wait for an outcome has already caused intolerable anxiety and stress, and constitutes an unacceptable harm prohibited under international human rights law."

Johal's imprisonment was recognised by a UN panel as arbitrary detention in 2022 and he has claimed to have been tortured.

Indian authorities have previously denied the torture claim and have repeatedly maintained due process is being followed.

The UN experts have sent a new communication about the case to the Indian authorities and said they will monitor developments.

The 10 experts are UN Special Rapporteurs - independent human rights specialists appointed by the UN Human Rights Council - and four four members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Johal is represented in the UK by the legal charities Redress and Reprieve, which have called for action from the UK government.

Reprieve deputy chief executive Dan Dolan said this is a "very significant intervention" which should give a "fresh boost" to the UK government.

"Jagtar has been acquitted of the charges against him and there is no material evidence of what is being alleged against him, the case is based on a confession extracted under very brutal torture," he told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast.

"This is why these UN experts have come together to say that this is unacceptable and he should be home."

Dolan said the UK government has raised the case but have not done enough to bring Johal home.

"We want to see representation at the highest level - at the level of the prime minister - on a sustained basis until an agreement is reached that sees Jagtar back with his family," he said.

The charity Redress also said the UK government should be doing more to "end this injustice against a British citizen".

This week Johal's brother Gurpreet Singh Johal reiterated his calls for the UK government to take action.

Gupreet Singh Johal met Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in December.

"This is the strongest intervention yet from the UN," he said.

"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."

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: "We continue to raise concerns about Mr Johal's prolonged detention at every appropriate opportunity with the government of India.

"We have made clear that faster progress is needed to reach a resolution, including a full investigation into Mr Johal's allegations of torture."