End Unlawful Detention Uncategorized

Jagtar verdict ‘long overdue’ says Reprieve

The BBC captured the moment Gurpreet Singh Johal heard the news that his brother Jagtar Singh Johal had been acquitted in one of nine cases against him after a court in Punjab rejected allegations against him made by Indian authorities.

Gurpreet has long called on the government to seek Jagtar’s release.

“This verdict is long overdue,” Reprieve’s deputy executive director Dan Dolan told BBC Scotland. “He has been arbitrarily detained in India for a number of years and still has the threat of the death penalty hanging over his head in eight other essentially duplicate cases.”

“So whilst it’s good he’s been found innocent what we really need to see now is those other cases dropped, and the FCDO working with its Indian counterparts to see Jagtar returned home.”

The verdict was reported on BBC Scotland News at six and seven, then online in this article.