Wednesday 24 August 2022

MI5 and MI6 accused of tip-off that led to torture in Jagtar Singh Johal case

MI5 and MI6 stand accused of tipping off the Indian authorities about a Scottish citizen before his abduction and alleged torture by Punjab police. 

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dombarton in Scotland, was in India in 2017 when his family say he was kidnapped and forced into an unmarked car. 

He says he was then tortured over days, including with electrocution. He has remained in custody since then for now over seven years. 

Successive British prime ministers have raised his case but Indian's government denies he was tortured or mistreated. 

Mr Johal was an active blogger and campaigner for Sikh human rights, which are said to have brought him to the attention of the Indian authorities. 

In May, he was formerly charged with conspiracy to commit murder and being a member of a terrorist gang. He will be presented with a full list of the charges against him next month and faces a possible death penalty. 

The Indian authorities say the charges are related to Sikh nationalism, though he denies any wrongdoing. 

Now the human rights group Reprieve has shown the BBC documentation that it says is compelling evidence that his arrest followed a tip-off from British Intelligence Services. 

The UK Government says it will not comment on an ongoing legal case. 
Reprieve says it has matched several details relating to his case to a specific claim of mistreatment documented in a report by the watchdog that overseas the intelligence agencies. 

"In the course of an investigation", says the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) report, "MI5 passed intelligence to a liaison partner via the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). 

"The subject of the intelligence was arrested by the liaison partner in their country. The individual told the British Consular Official that he had been tortured." 

Mr Johal is not named in the report, but Reprieve's investigators are adamant the facts match his case due to the dates concerned, the lobbying by British prime ministers and 

Mr Johal is currently being held in a Delhi prison. He has alleged that, following his arrest, he was held incommunicado, was brutally interrogated for hours on end, and was initially denied access to lawyers or British consular officials. 

He says he was made to sign blank sheets of paper that were later used against him as a false confession. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he raised Mr Johal's case with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, during a trip to India in April this year. His predecessor, Theresa May, also raised the case with the Indian government during her tenure. 
     Jagtar Singh Johal (right) arrives at.           court in India in November 2017

On 12th August, Mr Johal lodged a claim in the High Court against the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Attorney General, alleging that UK Intelligence agencies unlawfully shared information with the Indian authorities when there was a risk he could be tortured. 

Reprieve says this case suggests the government has failed to fix longstanding shortcomings in its policy on torture and the death penalty, and has learned little from past failings such as the MI6 tip-off that led to the rendition and torture of Lybyan dissident Abdulhakim Belhaj. 

Commenting on the allegations, MP Steve Baker said: "This appalling case, where UK intelligence sharing has been linked to brutal torture, illustrates vividly why the National Security Bill needs to be improved." 

Responding on behalf of all three accused government departments, the Foreign Office said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing legal case."

With many thanks to BBC News London for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: Scott held in India faces murder conspiracy charge
















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