By Democrat reporter
The detention of a Scottish Sikh man in India has no legal basis, according to human rights investigators at the UN.
Jagtar Singh Johal, from Oxhill Road in Dumbarton, was arrested on alleged terror offences in 2017 and is yet to stand trial.
Now the United Nation’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has said that Mr Johal has been detained “arbitrarily” and should be released immediately.
The Indian government said his detention was based on “sufficient prosecutable evidence”.
It also said Mr Johal’s rights had been “duly honoured”.
The working group is a panel of experts which investigates whether a person’s detention breaches accepted standards in international human rights law.
In a damning new finding on the case, it stated that there had been “violations of international human rights norms and standards in the arrest and detention of Mr. Johal” as well as “multiple violations of [his] right to a fair trial.”
It called on the Indian government “to take urgent action to ensure the immediate unconditional release of Mr. Johal” and “accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.”
Mr Johal’s brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, was elected to a seat for the for the Scottish Labour Party in the Dumbarton Central Ward on Thursday.
He is pictured here campaigning with Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar and David McBride who was also elected for Labour on Thirsday.
