 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: What happened to the court case or investigations?.(May 2021) |
The arrest of Jagtar Singh Johal is a detainment that occurred in November 2017 in Punjab, India. According to the human rights organisation Reprieve, UK spy agencies tipped off their Indian counterparts about a key man, "Johal", who was currently in India. [1]
Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in India in 2017. According to the United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Johal has been detained "arbitrarily" and should be released immediately. Following their investigations, the UN group concluded that Johal's detention without trial was "on discriminatory grounds, owing to his status as a human rights defender and based on his political activism, religious faith and opinions," something Johal's family have asserted since he was first arrested in 2017. [2] Jagtar Singh Johal has told the BBC that he had been tortured and forced to sign false confession statements. [3] Jagtar Singh Johal is accused for the involvement in the murders of Brigadier (retd) Jagdish Gagneja, RSS leader Ravinder Gosain and Pastor Sultan Masih [4] and for funding of the terrorist organization Khalistan Liberation Force in November 2017, for which there is no judicially admissible evidence against him, despite intelligence agencies having over three years to investigate. [5] Johal has not been brought to trial.
Johal is currently being held at Tihar jail and has yet to face trial despite being in Indian custody since 2017. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
The Indian authorities have not yet provided Johal's lawyer with evidence linking him to any crimes, thereby making it impossible for Johal to be brought to trial. Johal's lawyer alleges there is no such evidence, implying that the Indian authorities are deliberately and illegally detaining Johal. While in custody, Johal was also charged with another crime. [13]
His family allege that he was falsely detained and forced to sign blank statements and face torture in prison. [14] Police have denied these claims and termed them "emotional drama", noting that anyone suffering the extent of torture alleged by Johal would have succumbed to his wounds. [15] [14] [8] International and Sikh human rights groups in Punjab and the diaspora, as well as over 140 UK Members of Parliament (MPs), including the former Brexit secretary David Davis; the former international development secretary Hilary Benn; the father of the house, Sir Peter Bottomley; the SNP leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford; Sheffield's mayor, Dan Jarvis; the former Foreign Office minister Lord Hain; the former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell; and Andrew Rosindell, a Conservative member of the foreign affairs select committee have written to Dominic Raab urging him to do more to secure the release of Johal. They are concerned over Johal's detention and allegations of brutal treatment towards Johal - the Indian police have been accused of torturing him whilst in custody. [16] [14] The Indian government has cited significant Khalistani outreach towards Indian-origin British MPs for their support towards Johal and insisted that their opposition is based on appeasing sentiments of large voting blocs.
Johal's case had now been forwarded to the UN's Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment for further investigation. A UK government spokesperson said: "We have consistently raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case with the government of India, including his allegations of torture and mistreatment and his right to a fair trial. [17]
Jagtar Singh Johal was an accused in 11 cases out of which he has been discharged in 1 case and has been granted bail in 3 other cases. In one of the more serious case of Targeted killings/attempted killings, the high court of Punjab and Haryana headed by Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa and Justice Lalit Batra, rejected his bail stating that there was sufficient evidence against the accused to establish his involvement in the targeted killings/attempted killings (also including instant incident of attempted killing of Amit Arora) in the state of Punjab during the period of 2016-2017. The court also noted that "funds facilitated by the applicant/accused Jagtar Singh Johal was handed over to accused Hardeep Singh who along with Ramandeep Singh used that funds for carrying out eight incidents of targeted killings/attempted killings (including the incident of attempt to killing of Amit Arora). Thus, in this way, it has been established that Jagtar Singh Johal has conspired, abetted, funded and facilitated the incident of instant terrorist act." [18]
On 22 August 2022, it was reported by The Times that MI5 and MI6 staff supplied information that led to the alleged torture of a British citizen in India, apparently in breach of Britain's commitment to human rights. [19]
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
Babbar Khalsa International, better known as Babbar Khalsa, is a Sikh militant organisation that aims to create an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan in the Indian state of Punjab. It has used armed attacks, assassinations and bombings in aid of that goal, and is deemed to be a terrorist entity by various governments. Besides India, it operates in North America and Europe, including Scandinavia.
Talwinder Singh Parmar or Hardev Singh Parmar was a Sikh militant accused of masterminding the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing, which killed 329 people. It was the worst single incident of aviation terrorism in history until the September 11 attacks in the United States. In addition, another bomb was meant to explode aboard Air India Flight 301 in Japan the same day, but it exploded while the plane was still grounded, killing two people. Parmar was also the founder, leader, and Jathedar of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), better known as Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh militant group involved in the Khalistan movement.
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He served twice as DGP for the state of Punjab, India, where he is credited with having brought the Punjab insurgency under control. While many see him as a hero, there are accusations that he and the forces under his command were responsible for "multiple cases of human rights violation", "in the name of" stamping out terrorism. He was also convicted in a sexual harassment case. Gill retired from the IPS in 1995.
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and one of the largest complex of prisons in India. It has 9 functional prisons spread over more than 400 acres. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one of the three prison complexes in Delhi. The other two prison complexes are at Rohini and Mandoli with one and six central prisons respectively. Tihar prison complex is located in Janakpuri, approximately 3 km from Tihar village in West Delhi.
The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a Sikh Khalistani militant organisation operating in the state of Punjab, India with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan through armed struggle. KCF is also responsible for many assassinations in India, including the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. It is designated as a Terrorist Organisation by the Government of India.
Beant Singh was an Indian politician and the 12th Chief Minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995. He was a member of Indian National Congress. He was assassinated in a suicide bombing.
The Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) is a Khalistani separatist militant organization based in the Indian state of Punjab. Its motive is the creation of a sovereign Sikh state called Khalistan via armed struggle. The KLF is one of the key fighting forces of the Khalistan movement. It was responsible for assassinations, abductions and military engagements with the Indian Armed Forces during the Insurgency in Punjab, India. The KLF is listed as a designated terrorist group by the Republic of India.
Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar was the militant and co-leader of Babbar Khalsa (BK), a Sikh militant organization involved in the pursuit of creating a Sikh nation named as "Khalistan" and generally believed responsible for the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, although Sukhdev was never named as being involved.. BK was founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar, himself, and Amarjit Kaur. He commanded BK continuously for 14 years until he was killed in 1992. He was a member of the AKJ.
Operation Woodrose was a military operation carried out by the Indira Gandhi-led Indian government in the months after Operation Blue Star to "prevent the outbreak of widespread public protest" in the state of Punjab. The government arrested all prominent members of the largest Sikh political party, the Akali Dal, and banned the All India Sikh Students Federation, a large students' union. In addition, the Indian Army conducted operations in the countryside during which thousands of Sikhs, overwhelmingly young men, were detained for interrogation and subsequently tortured. Despite its purported success in controlling the armed insurgency in the Punjab region, the operation was criticized by human-rights groups for the suspension of civil liberties and habeas corpus, resulting in the disappearances of thousands of Sikh men. After the operation, the central government was criticized for using "draconian legislation" to repress a minority community.
Jagtar Singh Hawara is a high level member of Babbar Khalsa who is currently serving life imprisonment at Tihar Jail. He was convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of 12th Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh.
From 1984 to 1995, the state of Punjab in northern India was engaged in a power struggle between the militant secessionist Khalistan movement and Indian security forces. The Indian government responded to the escalating Punjab insurgency by launching Operation Blue Star in 1984, storming the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple complex in Amritsar—the center of Sikh religious and spiritual life, where some militant groups had retreated. The Operation was controversial and resulted in death of hundreds of civilians, militants and soldiers. After Sikh bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, further violence ensued.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and 3,350 nationwide, whilst other sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.
Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir range from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Border Security Personnel (BSF) have been accused of committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians. According to Seema Kazi, militant groups have also been held responsible for similar crimes, but the vast majority of abuses have been perpetrated by the armed forces of the Indian government.
Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala was the third chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force.
Sukhbir Singh Badal is an Indian politician and Sikh rights advocate who served twice as the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and is currently the president of Shiromani Akali Dal, along with being a member of Parliament from the Firozpur Lok Sabha constituency. He is the son of Parkash Singh Badal, who has served five times as the Chief Minister of Punjab. He holds lots of power over the Sikh organizations of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. A businessman at heart, Badal and his family have ownership stakes in an array of businesses- including real estate, transport and other activities to promote Punjab's economic condition on a national level.
During the years of 2016 and 2017, multiple attacks on political activists and mostly Hindu religious leaders in the northern Indian state of Punjab were perpetrated by individuals who were allegedly affiliated with the Sikh militant group Khalistan Liberation Force which is a designated terrorist group by India. Those culpable for the attacks were also arrested. The Pakistani agency ISI was allegedly held responsible by India for financing and aiding the militant acts to foment religious disturbances in the state.
Harmeet Singh also known as PhD or Happy was the 8th chief of Khalistan Liberation Force.
Harminder Singh Nihang, also known as Harminder Singh Mintoo, was a prominent Sikh militant and the 7th leader of Khalistan Liberation Force. Nihang was instrumental in reinvigorating the Khalistan Movement in the 21st Century. Nihang died in police custody.