John Swinney: Jagtar Singh Johal release is a ‘significant step’

The release on bail of Scotsman Jagtar Singh Johal after nine years in an Indian prison is a “significant step”, First Minister John Swinney has said.

Sikh blogger Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested in 2017 on allegations of involvement in an assassination plot against Hindu figures.

He was in India for his wedding and has been in detention ever since, while his solicitor brother Gurpreet – who sits on West Dunbartonshire Council – campaigned for his release.

Johal, known as Jaggi, was in the country for his wedding, which had taken place around a fortnight earlier.

He subsequently accused Punjab police of torture and threats against loved ones and said he had been forced to sign a false confession. His family believes he was targeted for online activity centred around the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984.

A succession of UK Government figures has raised the case since then, and in 2022 a UN panel recognised it as arbitrary detention.

Now 39 years old, he was today allowed to leave jail in Delhi, where he was met by in-laws.

Responding to the development, First Minister John Swinney said his release on bail was “a significant step forward”.

Swinney said it would be “preferable” if Johal was back in Scotland soon, but added: “The Indian judicial system will have to determine its own conditions, but it's really welcome news that he's been released from prison after such a long wait.

“This has been a long and difficult period for him and for his family and I am glad to reach the point where the process can take its course without him being imprisoned.”

However, Johal’s family and supporters warned that he is still facing the death penalty on “trumped-up charges” and subject to stringent restrictions on his movement, association, and speech.

He is accused of membership of the militant Khalistan Liberation Force, which aims to create a Sikh state and has perpetrated violence. Prosecutors claim Johal went to Paris in 2013 to give £3,000 to the group, with the money then used in assassination plots.

In March last year, he was acquitted on all charges in one case against him by a court which found prosecutors had failed to provide evidence to support the claims against him. However, he remains on trial in eight other cases which are based on the same central allegation and statement to police.

His release on bail follows a threat of court action to prison officials who had initially declined to allow him to leave jail.

Under the conditions of his release, Johal must surrender his passport, must request permission to travel to his Indian family’s home state of Punjab, and may not make public comments about the legal proceedings. He is further barred from joining social media or WhatsApp groups sharing “anti-national” material.

His brother, Labour councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, said: “There have been so many setbacks and disappointments in the last nine years that I didn’t dare to believe it until I saw Jagtar walking out of the prison gates with my own eyes. The last two weeks have been torture – knowing that Jagtar had been granted bail but the authorities were refusing to let him out.

“I’ll sleep well tonight, knowing that he’s not behind bars. Tomorrow morning the fight continues, because he’s still on trial and facing the death penalty for something he didn’t do, trapped in a sham legal process designed to punish him for standing up for human rights. We’ll keep on fighting until he’s home with us. Now it’s over to the UK Government to get it done.”

The family has been supported by the legal charity Reprieve. Its deputy executive director Dan Dolan said: “Jagtar remains on trial in cases that could last for decades and end in capital punishment, centred on a baseless allegation that has been thrown out in court for lack of evidence. His bail conditions deny him any semblance of a normal life. The foreign secretary should seize the moment and find a way to bring this young British citizen home to his family in Scotland as soon as possible.”