MPs urge Lammy to act after Briton jailed in India has case deferred

Hopes that Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh man held in an Indian jail for seven years, would be released on bail were dashed yesterday when his case was deferred by the Indian supreme court, possibly until after the summer, prompting calls from MPs for the foreign secretary to intervene.

- Patrick Wintour

David Lammy is due to meet Johal's brother again next week.

There had been hopes Johal would be released at least on bail after he was cleared of all charges in March in a case in Punjab that exactly parallels the charges laid against him in the federal courts. He has not been convicted of any crime since his arrest in November 2017.

Johal, from Dumbarton, is accused of being a member of a terror group, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), which has carried out attacks in Indian Punjab. The charges against him include that he travelled to Paris in 2013 and delivered £3,000 to other KLF figures, with the money then used to buy weapons that were used in a series of murders and attacks against Hindu nationalist and other religious leaders in 2016 and 2017. He has denied the charges.

Johal says he was tortured at the outset of his detention and forced to make a confession by signing a blank sheet of paper. A UN working party has claimed he is being held under arbitrary detention.