THE brother of a Scot detained in India for seven years on terror charges has described it as a “bittersweet victory” after he was cleared in one of the cases brought against him.
Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested in the country’s northern Punjab region just weeks after getting married there in 2017.
Members of the Free Jaggi Now Campaign outside 10 Downing Street in 2022[/caption]
He has been imprisoned ever since awaiting trial, having been accused by officials of playing a role in a series of targeted killings of religious and political figures.
But on Tuesday, the District Court in Moga, Punjab, acquitted the 38-year-old of conspiracy under the country’s anti-terror law and of being a member of a “terrorist gang”.
His family has now appealed to the UK Government for help to bring Jagtar home to Scotland, with his legal team arguing that the allegations in all the cases – for which he faces the death penalty – are close to identical and that all charges should now be dismissed.
Gurpreet Singh Johal, his brother, told the Scottish Sun: “Jagtar’s wife was married for two weeks when she saw her husband get abducted. She’s not been able to move on with her life.
“We lost our maternal grandfather, who practically brought us up from birth last year, and Jagtar couldn’t be at the funeral, didn’t have an opportunity to speak to him before he passed away, and then despite court orders in India, the Indian jail authorities did not allow Jagtar to attend final prayers.
“So, it’s a bittersweet victory today, but all I can say off the back of this is that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and we’re hopeful Jagtar will be back home sooner rather than later.”
On his 2017 arrest, Jagtar was accused of being a member of a terror group, the Khalistan Liberation Force, which has carried out attacks in the Punjab region.
The charges against him stated that he travelled to Paris in 2013 and delivered £3,000 to other KLF figures, with the cash then used to purchase weapons later used in a series of murders and attacks against Hindu nationalist and other religious leaders in 2016 and 2017.
His family and supporters have maintained Jagtar’s innocence and allege he was forced to sign a blank confession after being physically tortured following his arrest – accusations denied by Indian authorities.
Jagtar’s legal team claims the prosecution against him is political because of his activism in documenting crimes against Sikhs in the Punjab region in the 1980s.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “The UK Government remains committed to working for faster progress on Jagtar’s case and the FCDO continues to work to support Mr Johal and his family.”
