Arabic version: الإفراج بكفالة عن جاغتار سينغ جوهال بعد تسع سنوات

According to BBC News, Scottish Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal has been released from prison in India after being detained for almost nine years without a conviction. Johal, 39, from Dumbarton, was arrested in 2017 in connection with alleged terror offences, which he denies.

Delhi High Court granted him bail on 18 September, although he was released only now. His bail conditions require him to surrender his passport and bar him from speaking to the media about the case.

Indian authorities accuse Johal of involvement in targeted killings of religious and political figures. They allege he travelled to Paris in 2013 and handed about £3,000 to the Khalistan Liberation Force, which they say was used to fund weapons for killings or attempted killings in Punjab in 2016 and 2017. Authorities claim he was a member of the group and participated in the conspiracy.

His supporters say he was targeted because of blogging about alleged human rights abuses against Sikhs in India, and that he was coerced into signing a false confession. His family say no concrete evidence has been presented. A UN panel recognised his imprisonment as arbitrary detention in 2022; Johal has also alleged torture, a claim Indian authorities have denied.

Johal was acquitted last year in a case alleging financial support for the group, but still faces federal charges in eight other cases and potentially the death penalty. His legal team says the cases are almost identical. His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal called bail an important milestone, while Reprieve and Redress said he was not yet free of the wider legal case.