FOREIGN Secretary David Cameron had “no good answers” when questioned on the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, the brother of the imprisoned Scot has said.
Gurpreet Singh Johal said he would “hold” the Foreign Secretary to promises of answers after the two met in Scotland.
He said: “David Cameron came to Scotland and listened to what I had to say, which is already better than the other five Foreign Secretaries who have failed to bring Jagtar home, but he had no good answers to my questions. He promised to come back to me with answers, soon – and I'm going to hold him to that.
“Him saying that if the UK Government seeks Jagtar’s release it might lose consular access is a poor excuse. No one is suggesting he should browbeat India – he just needs to work constructively with their government to negotiate my brother’s return.”
Consular access gives foreign government officials the ability to communicate with their nationals imprisoned abroad.
Gurpreet added: “The reality is that ‘consular access’ means one visit every six weeks, and a note to the family about whether Jagtar gets video calls or has a TV in his cell.
“It’s pathetic that this is the extent of the UK Government’s concerns when a British national is arbitrarily detained for six years and counting, on the basis of a torture confession.”
READ MORE: SNP MP calls out Foreign Office's 'utter disregard' for Jagtar Singh Johal case
Jagtar, also known as Jaggi, from Dumbarton, Scotland, was in Punjab in northern India for his wedding in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car.
He is said to have been tortured, including with electric shocks, and faces the death penalty as a result of his campaigning for Sikh rights.
Speaking as he visited the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, he said he would review the action taken so far, but stopped short of calling for Jaggi to be released.
Lord Cameron said: “The Indian government has got to speed up this case.”
He added: “What I have said to the family is I am going to go back to my office and look at the paperwork all over again.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf writes to PM urging him to act on Jagtar Singh Johal's imprisonment
“I am going to take into account what they have said and see whether there is a different approach we should be taking. I’ve made absolutely no promises that it will be different, but what I have said is I take these cases very seriously.
“I am going to re-examine everything and make sure we are doing the right thing.”
Dan Dolan, director of policy and advocacy at the human rights organisation Reprieve, said: “The UK Government cannot continue to hide behind talk of respecting ‘due process’ when Jagtar has been arbitrarily detained for six years without any credible evidence being presented.
“India's Supreme Court recently challenged prosecutors to produce evidence against Jagtar and they were unable to do so.”
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