Don't let my brother rot in prison, Labour councillor tells foreign secretary

A Labour councillor has urged foreign secretary David Lammy not to let his brother "rot away in prison".

In a strongly-worded statement, Gurpreet Singh Johal has hit out at inaction on his younger brother's case as he continues to languish in an Indian jail.

A member of the administration of West Dunbartonshire Council, Johal has met with successive foreign secretaries since his brother Jagtar was bundled into an unmarked van by plain clothes officers in 2017.

Johal has met with successive foreign secretaries since then and the latest happened today, after Jagtar was acquitted in the first trial against him. Several other cases remain based on the same premise.

Johal's meeting with Lammy comes just two days after the announcement of a trade deal between the UK and India.

It was hailed as a "landmark deal" by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and "an ambitious and mutually beneficial free trade agreement" by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Johal previously accused the UK Government of prioritising such a trade deal over his brother's human rights. 

Now he has said he is "bitterly disappointed" about the lack of progress made by the Labour government.

The councillor said: "In opposition, David Lammy said the right things about my brother’s unjust detention, but now he’s in power we need more than words. It was clear today that Jagtar is not top of the agenda. I’m bitterly disappointed because it feels like we’ve barely made any progress at all since the last meeting in October, even though a court in India has seen the evidence against Jagtar and thrown it out. 

"We’ve presented a clear plan to the UK Government. The question now is whether Mr Lammy will act on it, or fail like all the foreign secretaries before him, offering meaningless expressions of support while my brother rots away in prison."

Scottish blogger Jagtar got married in Punjab three weeks before his arrest and has been in custody ever since. 

MPs including Lammy and Starmer have described his treatment as arbitrary detention and Jagtar, who is supported by legal charity Reprieve, has said he was subjected to torture.

He denies funding an assassination plot against right-wing Hindu figures and, in his first trial, the court rejected all allegations against him.

Last week a group of more than 100 parliamentarians wrote to Lammy demanding decisive UK Government action to secure Jagtar's release. The same day, India's Supreme Court declined to hear his petition for bail.

The family's MP Douglas McAllister said: “I am frustrated with the lack of progress made since Jagtar's acquittal to secure his release.

“There is a narrow window of opportunity which the UK Government and in particular the foreign secretary must grasp. 

“The time to act is now. Urgent discussions with the Indian government are required. I hope the foreign secretary listened to what we had to say today. This is a clear-cut case of double jeopardy and an injustice that must be immediately addressed.”

The Foreign Office said: "Despite some progress in his cases, Mr Jagtar Singh Johal has now been detained in India for over seven years without a conviction.

"We continue to raise concerns about Mr Johal's prolonged detention with the government of India at every opportunity, emphasising the need for a prompt, full and just resolution of Mr Johal's cases within India's independent legal system.

"We continue to provide consular support to Mr Johal and his family, and the foreign secretary recently met with Mr Johal’s brother, a member of parliament and a representative from Reprieve on 8 May to discuss the ongoing situation."