Rishi Sunak has been accused of not helping Jagtar Singh Johal, who is stuck in jail in India, because the Foreign Office decided not to get involved in the situation.
MrJohal’s brother Gurpeet stated that the government did not have the determination to bring him back.
A man from Dumbarton is in trouble and might be sentenced to death. He has been held in India since 2017.
Mr Sunak is currently in Delhi for the G20 Summit. However, he has decided not to promise that he will discuss the matter with the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
In a letter to Mr. Johal’s local representative, Martin Docherty-Hughes, Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad stated that after thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of asking for Mr. Johal to be freed and how effective it would be, they do not think it would be in his best interest.
“With Mr Johal’s trial happening now, we think that making this request could be seen as getting involved in the Indian legal process. This might put our ability to help Mr Johal in his case at risk. ”
Lord Ahmad also mentioned that the UK government will keep expressing its worries to India. They also visit Mr Johal regularly to ensure he is doing well.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the same thing in July when he wrote to Mr. Johal’s family, explaining why the UK would not ask for his freedom.
The Member of Parliament for West Dunbartonshire, Mr. Docherty-Hughes, said that the prime minister decided to prioritize a trade deal over the life of a British citizen. He also ignored a reasonable request made by more than 70 of his fellow MPs.
Earlier this week, a group of Members of Parliament from different political parties asked Mr. Sunak to get involved in the situation while he was in Delhi.
MrJohal, a 36 year-old advocate for the rights of Sikhs, went to India in October 2017 to get married.
MPs say that after they arrested him, the interrogators shocked him with electricity and threatened to pour gasoline on him and set him on fire.
Jagtar made videos of himself talking and signed blank papers to stop the torture.
The Indian authorities have said that these accusations are not true.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that he was singled out because he had asked for “responsibility to be taken for supposed mistreatment of Sikhs by the government”.
He is currently accused of planning to commit eight murders that are connected to political violence in India.
In an interview with the BBC, Gurpreet Johal, the lawyer and Labour councillor who is the brother of Mr. Johal, said that Lord Ahmad expressed worry about the situation, but lacked the ability to take effective action.
“They claim the situation is important and they are trying to find a solution, but they keep delaying it by giving me a less experienced government official. ”
I am tired of being told that the government cannot do anything.
My brother has been gone from our family for six years now. The prime minister and foreign secretary are not making enough effort to bring an innocent British person back from an Indian jail. As a result, this person is being left to suffer for longer than necessary.
During the plane journey to Delhi, when someone asked if he would talk about the case, Mr. Sunak replied: “I will discuss various things with Prime Minister Modi – just to reassure people, this matter has already been brought up multiple times at different levels. ”