Foreign Affairs report calls for UK to “respond assertively” to #FreeJaggiNow case

This week the UK Foreign Affairs Committee published its “Combatting state hostage diplomacy” report in which they called out the UK government’s failure to hold India to account in the case of Jagtar Singh “Jaggi” Johal.

The damning report found that the UK government has been either “too slow” or “entirely unwilling” to call out India, as well as other countries guilty of arbitrarily detaining people.

The report called out the “reluctance of the Foreign Secretary or Prime Minister to even call on the Indian Government to release Jagtar for fear the authorities in India will limit consular access, despite significant allegations of torture”. The most recent example of this is UK PM Rishi Sunak’s visit to New Delhi for the G20 summit, where he eventually and seemingly reluctantly raised Jaggi’s case to Indian PM Narendra Modi after previously deciding not to call for his release, which saw him called out by even his own MPs.

For a full timeline on Jaggi read – https://www.sikhpa.com/FreeJaggiNow/

Jaggi’s case, amongst others, demonstrates the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) “inability to ensure that their own guidance to keep UK citizens safe is followed”. They have recently been accused of undermining public trust and hurting victims and their families by harbouring an “unnecessarily defensive culture” around their handling of state hostage takings and arbitrary detentions.

The UK government has been told by the report that they must reform by taking a zero-tolerance approach to state hostage taking and arbitrary detention of British citizens. It has been six years and not one UK Prime Minister has sought Jaggi’s release. The government has two months to respond to the report’s findings and recommendations.

Reprieve’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Dan Dolan commented on the report saying:

“It’s not news that the Government is failing Jagtar Singh Johal, but it’s noteworthy that so many senior MPs from all parties are now calling them out for that failure.

“The Foreign Affairs Committee’s report reveals how badly the Foreign Office is letting people like Jagtar down. The language the Committee uses could hardly be stronger.”

He went on to call for action, saying that:

“It’s not too late for the Government to heed the Committee’s recommendations. Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly should seek Jagtar’s release, and make clear to the Indian government that Britain will not stand for one of its own being imprisoned for years without any legal basis.”

Last week (18.10.2023) was Jaggi and his wife’s 6th wedding anniversary, an occasion which they have never celebrated together. The anniversary highlighted how long Jaggi has been arbitrarily detained and the failures of the UK government to secure his release.

Jaggi Awareness Week is coming up from the 4th-11th of November and will be commemorated internationally.

Jaggi’s brother, activist Gurpreet Singh Johal and lead of the #FreeJaggiNow campaign, will also be on tour in Canada from the 28th of October to the 3rd of November, where he will be sharing his experiences and discussing India’s oppression of Sikh activists.

The report also requested registry of foreign agents to become mandatory, amid wider allegations of Indian State covert practice in the UK.

Media inquiries- media@sikhpa.com.