'Our Govt Betrayed Him': UK Intel's Alleged Tip-Off Led to Jagtar Johal's Arrest

"Not only has the UK abandoned its citizen, but it has also actively betrayed him," Jagtar's brother told The Quint.

Jagtar Singh Johal.

(Photo Courtesy: Gurpreet Singh Johal)

"I never imagined the scenes I'd seen in horror movies of people being abducted by a foreign government and violently tortured could become a reality for someone in my family," Gurpreet Singh Johal, brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, told The Quint after it was reported in the British press that the UK intelligence agencies passed on information about him to the Indian authorities, leading to his arrest.

"When it did, I expected our government would do everything in its power to save my brother. The twist is that not only has our government abandoned one of its own citizens, it’s actively betrayed him."

A Scottish Sikh man from Dumbarton, Jagtar was arrested in 2017 a few days after his wedding for allegedly funding terrorism and playing a role in the targeted killings of some Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders. He has been detained ever since and has allegedly been tortured at the hands of the police.

Human rights group Reprieve has shown the BBC what it says is compelling evidence that Jagtar's arrest occurred due to a tip-off from British intelligence.

"It was already a scandal that when a British national was snatched off the street by Indian authorities while on his honeymoon, Boris Johnson left him to rot for five years before finally admitting he was being arbitrarily detained. Now it appears the UK government hasn’t just been negligent, but may have unlawfully enabled his abduction and brutal torture through a tip off to the Indian authorities," Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve, said while commenting on the latest development.

"If this can happen to my brother, it could happen to any British national traveling overseas. Jagtar’s only 'crime' was writing blogs exposing the Indian government’s mistreatment of Sikhs, and the United Nations says this is the reason he's been targeted. The UK should be championing free speech around the world, not assisting repressive regimes to torture and lock up British nationals who dare to criticise them. We need answers and accountability to make sure no other British family is put through this living hell."

Gurpreet Singh Johal, brother of Jagtar Singh Johal

"Our investigators have uncovered critical information that in 2017, the UK government may have authorised MI5 and MI6 to share information about UK citizen Jagtar Singh Johal."

Reprieve and Redress (a human rights organisation based in London) said in a joint statement on Tuesday

The prime minister at the time was Theresa May. Gurpreet Johal, however, had told The Quint during an interview that "in April 2018, the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, raised Jagtar's case with Prime Minister Modi when the latter was in the UK in what was a prime minister to a prime minister level communication."

"The very least we can expect of our government is not to share intelligence that leads to us being detained and tortured overseas. We’re talking about a British blogger who United Nations experts say has been targeted because he spoke out against abuses committed against the Sikh community in India – the UK Government must finally bring him home," Foa added.

The Case of Jagtar Singh Johal

Jagtar's case has been raised by the United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which asserts that he has been detained "arbitrarily."

The panel has argued that the "continued pre-trial detention of Johal lacks legal basis, and is arbitrary," and that there is "no judicially admissible evidence against Johal, despite intelligence agencies having over three years to investigate."

The Indian government has alleged his role in the targeted killings of people affiliated with the RSS from April 2016 to October 2017.

It said that Johal's arrest and detention were based on "sufficient prosecutable evidence."

The problem is that the "sufficient prosecutable evidence" has not led to the commencement of a trial against him. Even the charges are yet to be framed by the court, despite Jagtar Johal being locked up for four and a half years.

On 4 November 2017, Jagtar Johal was out shopping with his wife and his cousin. They were travelling by car in Jalandhar when it was intercepted and stopped at a busy road. He was taken out of the car, hooded, and then taken away, according to his brother, Gurpreet Johal.

Jagtar Johal's first court appearance, according to his brother, was on 14 November 2017. This was when he had told his advocate about "the third-degree torture that he had suffered in police custody."

Click here to know more about Jagtar Johal and where his case stands, in The Quint's interview with Gurpreet Johal.

Almost two months ago, for the first time in the case, outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged that Jagtar Johal's detention in India is "arbitrary."

The acknowledgement came in a letter addressed to the Leader of the Opposition, Sir Kier Starmer. You can read more about that here.

During his interview with The Quint, when asked about how frequently he talks to his brother, Gurpreet Johal had said, "In the last four years, I’ve had seven phone calls from him, that's it. The first call lasted about 30 seconds. I’ve had two video link meetings with him as well. The first one was nine months ago, and the other one was two or three months ago, but that then just focused on Jagtar's wife and my children speaking to him."

"We're at the mercy of the Indian state."