Sunak urged to lobby Indian PM over release of jailed British blogger

More than 70 MPs have urged the Prime Minister to use his trip to India to raise the case of a Scottish Sikh blogger who has been jailed in the country for almost six years.

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was in Punjab in northern India for his wedding in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car.

He said he has been tortured, including through electric shocks, and faces the death penalty over his activism and campaigning for Sikh human rights.

Rishi Sunak is due to travel to the G20 summit in New Delhi at the weekend and is likely to meet Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

According to the Sikh Federation, a cross-party group of at least 70 MPs have written to Mr Sunak, calling on him to press the Hindu nationalist leader to “immediately release” Mr Johal.

London and New Delhi are currently in negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal, with reports Mr Sunak could be planning a second visit to India this autumn in a bid to help finalise an agreement.

But the SNP’s Martin Docherty-Hughes, who has campaigned for Mr Johal’s freedom, said the “arbitrary detention by the Indian government” of a British national should “challenge the very basis of any trade deal”.

The West Dunbartonshire MP tweeted: “Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly must stand up for transparency and the rule of law and for Jagtar’s rights. Bring him home.”

Dabinderjit Singh, the principal adviser of the Sikh Federation, said: “Rishi Sunak has an opportunity and must show the courage as the UK PM when he visits India to stand up for a British citizen who has been in arbitrary detention for nearly six years.

“The British public and politicians are watching Rishi Sunak closely as the last thing he should be doing is appeasing India and discriminating against Jagtar Singh Johal because he is a Sikh activist.”

Mr Singh said Mr Sunak would “stand accused of being nothing more than a lame duck” leader should he fail to lobby Mr Modi on Mr Johal’s behalf.

Reprieve, a legal charity that has campaigned on the issue, has set up a petition for the public to also urge the Conservative Party leader to address Mr Johal’s detainment while in India.

The charity tweeted: “A Brit unjustly facing the death penalty overseas should be a matter of national priority, it’s time for the PM to act.

“The UN last year concluded that Jagtar’s continued detention lacks any legal basis.

“Yet the British Government has done next to nothing to get him home.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, according to the BBC, wrote to Mr Johal’s brother in July to say the Government had decided it was best not to press India over the issue.

Mr Cleverly reportedly told Gurpreet Singh Johal: “I do not consider that calling for Jagtar’s release would result in the Indian authorities releasing him.

“Indeed, I fear this could impact the co-operation we depend on – to conduct consular visits, resolve welfare concerns and attend court hearings.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Government is committed to seeing Jagtar Singh Johal’s case resolved as soon as possible. We are providing consular assistance to the family.

“We have raised concerns about the issues, including consular access, judicial process, reports of torture with the Indian government on more than 100 occasions.”