"this is causing mental torture to Jagtar."
Jagtar Singh Johal has been placed in solitary confinement in an Indian prison after being acquitted on all charges in a case against him in March 2025.
The 37-year-old from Dumbarton has been detained on terror charges without trial for seven years.
He was arrested in Punjab while visiting for his wedding in 2017.
His family called his acquittal in the first case against him a “major milestone”, though he still faces eight separate charges.
His brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, told the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs in the UK Parliament that Jagtar is under 24-hour armed guard and cannot speak to other prisoners.
He said: “Jagtar’s conditions have deteriorated.
“He is now being subjected to solitary confinement, 24-hour armed guard.
“He’s been stripped of his basic rights: not allowed access to a TV, not allowed to speak to other prisoners. As a result, this is causing mental torture to Jagtar.
“We need that reassurance that the government is doing its best to bring Jagtar home.”
Gurpreet said a critical window of opportunity existed after the Punjab acquittal, in which the judge was damning about the quality of evidence assembled by the Indian prosecutors, to secure his brother’s release.
He said the Foreign Office had to realise his brother was not being held to secure his conviction but to keep him in detention.
“What is missing from the British government is political will.
“I am told the prime minister raised the case when he met the Indian external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, but I do not know what exactly they are raising, or how central it is to the conversations ministers are having.”
Reprieve’s deputy executive director Dan Dolan, Redress Director Rupert Skilbeck, and Jagtar Singh Johal’s former MP Martin Docherty-Hughes joined Gurpreet on the panel for the APPG evidence session.
Dolan said:
“There’s no semblance of due process in this case. This case started with torture and it’s all based on torture.”
“Now is the moment to secure Jagtar’s release. The situation is one of double jeopardy, which is recognised in Indian and international law.
“It’s time for the British government to capitalise on that moment and say ‘we need to bring him home now’.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “We welcome the recent progress in the case.
“The UK Government remains committed to working for faster progress on Jagtar’s case, and the FCDO continue to work to support Mr Johal and his family.
“The Foreign Secretary has offered to meet Mr Johal’s brother and representatives from Reprieve again to discuss Mr Johal’s case.”
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