{"id":7525,"date":"2026-04-23T15:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T10:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/scottish-man-jagtar-singh-johal-in-india-un-flags-psychological-torture-after-8-years-in-jail\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T10:00:24","slug":"scottish-man-jagtar-singh-johal-in-india-un-flags-psychological-torture-after-8-years-in-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/scottish-man-jagtar-singh-johal-in-india-un-flags-psychological-torture-after-8-years-in-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottish man Jagtar Singh Johal in India: UN flags \u2018psychological torture\u2019 after 8 years in jail"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130463997,imgsize-135182,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/jagtarsingh.jpg\" alt=\"Scottish man Jagtar Singh Johal in India: UN flags \u2018psychological torture\u2019 after 8 years in jail\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A Scottish national detained in India for over eight years is facing \u201cpsychological torture\u201d due to prolonged uncertainty and delayed justice, United Nations experts have said, calling for his immediate release.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>A group of 10 independent UN human rights experts \u2014 including members of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention \u2014 said there is \u201cno rationale\u201d for Johal\u2019s continued detention.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>In a strongly worded statement, they described the case as a \u201cprofound miscarriage of justice\u201d and said:<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component \" data-pos=\"7\">\n<ul>\n<li>Prolonged detention without trial amounts to \u201cunlawful suffering\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Extended uncertainty can qualify as psychological torture under international law<\/li>\n<li>The delay has caused \u201cintolerable anxiety and stress\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The experts have requested Indian authorities to drop remaining charges and release him without delay.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3><keyword id=\"14341029\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"Who-is-jagtar-singh-johal\" source=\"Orion\">Who is Jagtar Singh Johal<\/keyword>?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>Jagtar Singh Johal, a 39-year-old from Dumbarton near Glasgow, was arrested in Punjab in 2017, just weeks after his wedding. <!-- -->He has remained in custody ever since over allegations linked to terrorism and targeted killings.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>While Johal was acquitted in 2025 in one terror-financing case, he continues to face other federal charges.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3>Torture claims and India\u2019s response<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Johal has alleged he was tortured and forced to sign a confession shortly after his arrest. However, Indian authorities have consistently denied these claims, maintaining that due legal process is being followed.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>The UN had earlier, in 2022, classified his detention as arbitrary, a position now reinforced by the latest intervention.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>Johal\u2019s case is being pursued internationally by legal advocacy groups such as Reprieve and Redress, which have urged the UK government to intensify efforts for his release.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/>His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal has also stepped up appeals, calling the situation a \u201cterrible injustice\u201d and pressing UK leaders to act more decisively.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>The case has been raised multiple times by UK officials, but campaigners argue that stronger, high-level diplomatic intervention is needed.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>Johal was accused of links to the Khalistan Liberation Force and involvement in targeted killings, allegations his legal team disputes. They argue the case relies heavily on a confession obtained under duress and lacks credible evidence.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>Despite one acquittal, the prolonged legal process and repeated delays have kept him in custody.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/uk\/scottish-man-jagtar-singh-johal-in-india-un-flags-psychological-torture-after-8-years-in-jail\/articleshow\/130463797.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Scottish national detained in India for over eight years is facing \u201cpsychological torture\u201d due to prolonged uncertainty and delayed justice, United Nations experts have said, calling for his immediate release.A group of 10 independent UN human rights experts \u2014 including members of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention \u2014 said there is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest-news"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}