Jailed Jagtar Singh Johal urges Foreign Secretary to Help Secure Release

Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been imprisoned in India for over eight years, has urged Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to intervene during her visit this week, saying he is “stuck in a broken country with a broken judicial system”.

Johal has been held since his arrest in 2017, just weeks after his wedding in India.

Despite being acquitted in 2025 of allegations that he financially supported a terrorist organisation, he continues to face multiple federal charges linked to the same accusations.

His continued detention has drawn international scrutiny. UN experts have described the case as arbitrary detention and warned he has suffered “a form of psychological torture”, raising further pressure on UK officials as diplomatic talks resume between London and New Delhi.

The case has resurfaced as Cooper travels to India for high-level discussions on global security and bilateral relations, following a separate visit to China.

During the trip, she is expected to meet Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Delhi on June 4.

British consular officials recently informed Johal of the Foreign Secretary’s visit.

In response, he sent a message saying: “I’m stuck in a broken country with a broken judicial system.”

Ahead of the meeting, pressure is mounting on the UK government to move beyond diplomatic engagement and secure his release.

West Dunbartonshire MP Douglas McAllister said: “There can be no higher priority on this trip than securing the freedom of a young British man who has been unjustly imprisoned for almost nine years.

“I have made this case to the Foreign Secretary personally, stressing the need for urgent action.

“It is not enough to raise the case or call for faster progress: following his acquittal in Punjab, all remaining charges against Jagtar Singh Johal should be dropped, so that he can return home to Dumbarton.”

Johal’s brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said repeated diplomatic visits had so far failed to deliver meaningful progress, despite continued assurances from ministers.

He said: “Each time a Foreign Minister travels to India for meetings, a part of me believes that Jagtar will be on the plane home with them.

“We look for tiny signs of progress and reasons to hope and, each time, the disappointment is crushing.

“When I met Yvette Cooper last year, we presented a clear plan to get Jagtar home – this visit is her big chance to put it into action.

“She has all the tools to succeed where seven other foreign secretaries have failed. It would be devastating to hear the same weak excuses all over again.”

Campaign group Reprieve, which has supported the family for years, said the legal case against Johal has no credible basis.

Dan Dolan, deputy chief executive of Reprieve, said: “An Indian court last year acquitted Jagtar on all charges, for lack of evidence, but he remains detained due to eight zombie cases based on the same allegation and the same torture confession.

“This kind of double jeopardy is prohibited in India’s constitution and international law.”

“As UN legal experts recently communicated to the Indian authorities, the only just resolution is for the charges to be dropped and Jagtar released immediately.

“It’s past time for the Foreign Secretary to negotiate with her Indian counterparts and get this done.”

Jagtar Singh Johal’s case is among several long-running diplomatic challenges facing the Foreign Secretary during her Asia visit.

While in China, Cooper pledged to continue raising the case of British citizen Jimmy Lai with Chinese authorities, amid ongoing concerns over human rights and national security.

Cooper has said a “really important” working relationship has been established with Beijing despite years of strained ties, but she continues to face pressure from campaigners and politicians to take a firmer stance on detained British nationals abroad.