UK national Johal’s kin make public his note on ‘torture’

JALANDHAR: With the family of UK national Jagtar Singh ‘Jaggi’ Johal, who is facing prosecution in cases of targeted killings in Punjab and a charge-sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency against him in the trial court, making public two hand-written pages, purportedly written by him, on graphic details of his third degree torture in police custody after his arrest on November 4, UK based human rights organization Redress has made public a a joint urgent appeal to the Government of India by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the vice-chair of the UN working group on arbitrary detention, sent on January 29 in this regard.

This urgent appeal by UN functionaries has come out in the public domain after it was sent in a report to UN Human Rights Council, Redress reported, stating that India had not responded to the appeal.

Preet Kaur Gill, UK MP, who also heads All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs, has termed the two-page handwritten note a “shocking testimony from Jagtar Singh Johal of the torture and forced confession by those investigating the case,” in a tweet on Saturday. The note is already hitting headlines in British media.

“Threats of taking me to a remote location where I would be shot dead were also given. The police took me to make recordings in which I had to narrate according to what they were telling me to say. Blank papers were also forcibly got signed by me and other documents also, which I was not allowed to read… Police officers also allegedly threatened to do the same to my family and orders were given to arrest my wife and cousin,” reads the note.

Meanwhile, UN experts in their urgent appeal in January said, “While we don’t want to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, grave concern is expressed at the alleged torture and ill-treatment of Jagtar Singh Johal in police custody.”

Sikh federation UK chair Amrik Singh said, “We believe these public revelations demand that the UK government take the extreme action they promised MPs or it will show they are too weak to protect an innocent British national from torture and death threats.”

Redress director Rupert Skilbeck in a statement issued on Saturday said, “It has now been seven months since Jagtar has said he was tortured, and it is imperative that India immediately launches a full investigation and address the concerns raised by UN special rapporteurs. As the details of Jagtar’s treatment in prison emerge it must be made clear that any evidence obtained through torture cannot be used in a court process against him.”