John Swinney has called for the immediate release of a Scottish blogger who has been arbitrarily detained in India for almost seven years, reports the BBC.
During a meeting at the Scottish parliament the First Minister told Jagtar’s brother Gurpreet that “Jagtar should be released immediately in line with the recommendations of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.”
“Although this issue is reserved, I and the Scottish Government will continue lobbying the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and UK Government to use every lever at their disposal to call for Jagtar’s release, and raise the case with Indian authorities on Mr Johal’s behalf,” he added.
Reprieve Deputy Director Harriet McCulloch said that she hoped the Prime Minister would listen to what the first minister had said, respond urgently, and bring Jagtar home to his family:
“Jagtar is locked away because he stood up for human rights, subjected to a legal process where prosecutors rely on a torture confession and have presented no credible evidence over hundreds of hearings.”
