Scot imprisoned in India for seven years Jagtar Singh Johal acquitted in the first judicial trial

A Scottish man who faces the death penalty in India, after being imprisoned without trial for seven years, has been acquitted for all charges in the first case against him.

Jagtar Singh Johal, 37, appeared in court for a video link in Punjab on Tuesday after the legal procedures were harassed by delays.

Johal faces nine cases, eight of which are in the Federal Court, for terrorist positions related to political violence in northern India. He took prosecutors almost five years to accuse him.

With the acquittal in the first case on Tuesday, their lawyers believe that the same will happen in the remaining eight cases and will walk free.

Jagtar Singh Johal, 33, was arrested on November 4, 2017 after traveling to Punjab for his wedding (Singh Johal/Pa) Singh Johal Family

His brother Gurreet Johal has been campaigning for the release of Jagtar Johal since his arrest.

“Jagtar hasn’t been able to hug his wife for seven years,” he said.

“All this time, he has been locked in an Indian prison for something he did not.

“We have always said that the accusations against Jagtar have no basis, and now the court in Punjab has agreed that the whole case against him has been exposed as a manufacturing.

“I will only believe that this nightmare is over when he is here at home, but today he feels like a significant moment. Surely, the United Kingdom government recognizes that this injustice can’t continue?

Johal was arrested in November 2017 in Punjab, north of India, while he was in the country for his wedding.

The activist and blogger of Sikh’s rights was born in Glasgow and grew up in Dumbarton.

The central accusation in the nine cases is that Johal transferred the money that was later used to finance a series of attacks in Punjab in 2016-17.

This claim has now been rejected by the court in Punjab, since prosecutors did not provide enough credible evidence to support it.

It is said that it was tortured, even with electric shocks, and faces the death penalty for eight positions in India.

He affirms that he was forced to sign a blank confession after being tortured and made to record a video that was broadcast on Indian television.

The deputy of West Dumbartonshire Douglas Mcallister and Jagtar Gurpreet Singh Johal's brother. — The deputy of West Dumbartonshire Douglas Mcallister and Jagtar Gurpreet Singh Johal’s brother. Pardon

Mr. Johal has been arrested in solitary confinement in a prison in Delhi since 2019.

In 2022, a United Nations panel recognized that Johal had been arbitrarily arrested in India.

His deputy, Douglas Mcallister, said: “The government must now act to ensure Jagtar’s liberation. This is a unique opportunity to ensure a resolution with the Indian authorities and bring this young British back to his family in Dumbarton.

“Without a decisive diplomatic action, he faces to be imprisoned for decades while the remaining judgments crawl, despite the total lack of credible evidence against him.”