Wife ‘unbearably sad’ eight years on from husband’s arrest in India

A woman has spoken of the “pain” of being separated from her husband on the eighth anniversary of his arrest in northern India.

Gurpreet Kaur said she was “unbearably sad” that her life with Jagtar Singh Johal had been “taken away”.

Mr Johal, 38, was arrested in connection with terror-related offences in the Punjab region while celebrating their honeymoon in November 2017.

He has not been convicted of any crime and in March was cleared in one of nine cases against him.

The Foreign Office previously said it remained committed to working for faster progress on the case.

Mr Johal, from Dumbarton, is accused of being a member of a terror group, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), which has carried out attacks in the Punjab region.

His supporters say that in the days following his arrest in Jalandhar, he was tortured and coerced into signing a false confession to participation in the killings.

They believe he was targeted for blogging about alleged human rights abuses against the Sikh community in India.

The Indian authorities deny the torture claim and have repeatedly maintained due process is being followed.

Mr Johal’s wife wife Gurpreet Kaur said: “It is impossible to describe the pain of being separated from Jagtar for so long.

“We were just beginning our life together, full of hope and love.

“When I look at the picture of us dancing, so happy, with the rings on our fingers symbolising our vows to each other, it makes me unbearably sad.

“I think of the years, the life that has been taken away from us.”

Legal charity Reprieve have criticised the process as unfair and said no “credible” evidence has been presented against Mr Johal.

Reprieve said that police in Punjab had also lost his wedding ring and a gold chain which was the last gift he received from his mother before she died.

They said the items were confiscated during Mr Johal’s arrest but he was now entitled to the return of his property.

Ms Kaur added: “I don’t care about the gold chain or even the ring – I just need Jagtar back to start our married life together.”

The charges against Mr Johal stated that he travelled to Paris in 2013 and delivered £3,000 to other KLF figures.

It is alleged that the money was then used to purchase weapons which were used in a series of murders and attacks against Hindu nationalist and other religious leaders across 2016 and 2017.

Mr Johal was acquitted of one of the nine cases against him in March, where he was accused of conspiracy under the India’s anti-terror law and of being a member of a “terrorist gang”.

When he was acquitted, Judge Harjeet Singh said: “The prosecution has miserably failed to prove the commission of the [conspiracy] offences by all the accused.”

His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal said: “The Indian authorities have stolen eight years of Jagtar’s life. He is being punished for standing up for human rights.

“I get tired of saying this, but it should be clear by now that they will only release him if the UK government insists on it.

“The prime minister and the foreign secretary are the two people who can make it happen – and I’ll be stressing this when I meet Yvette Cooper in the coming weeks.”

In May 2022, a UN panel of human rights experts found Mr Johal’s detention was arbitrary – in other words lacked legal basis – and he should be released.

The following month, then leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer called for the then prime minister Boris Johnson to officially request Mr Johal’s release.

At the time, Sir Keir wrote: “When a UK national has been so gravely mistreated, with no legal basis, the UK government must act decisively to negotiate their release.”

Last year, First Minister John Swinney also called for Mr Johal to be released immediately and said he was “gravely concerned” about his continued detention.

And in May, more than 100 MPs and peers wrote to the then foreign secretary David Lammy calling for “quick and decisive” action to secure his release.