THE MP of a Scottish man who could face the death penalty in India has again appealed to the UK Government for action as a major charity backs him.
Justice campaigners Reprieve have joined Redress and the Free Jaggi Now campaign to press for the release of Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been held in India without trial since November 2017.
Authorities say the Sikh blogger helped fund an assassination plot against Hindu nationalist figures linked to the country's ruling political party.
He says he was tortured and forced to sign a blank sheet of paper which later had a false confession added by authorities following an arrest two weeks after his Punjab wedding.
Johal's family had returned to Dumbarton and initially feared he had been kidnapped before learning that the plain-clothed men who detained the internet marketer during a shopping trip were from the police, who they say have targeted him for his ethnicity and nationality.
This month authorities brought new charges against Johal regarding a killing committed during his high-security detention in Tihar jail.
READ MORE: Jagtar Singh Johal family ‘scared for his life’ as new India claims emerge
He says he is innocent and "there is no end to cases against me".
The Foreign Office says it has "consistently raised concerns with the government of India, including allegations of torture and mistreatment and his right to a fair trial".
But in a letter to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Reprieve said it is "concerned that the risk of Jagtar being sentenced to death and executed is high given the politicised nature of this case".
Earlier this month, Johal's solicitor brother Gurpreet told this newspaper the family fears he will die in jail.
Martin Docherty-Hughes, the family's MP, has been calling for the fair trial or release of his constituent for more than three years.
He said: "I'd urge the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to reflect on the anguish they would feel if it were their son or brother facing death penalty charges after being tortured and held in arbitrary detention abroad for more than three years.
READ MORE: Jagtar Singh Johal: Michael Russell calls for UK Government to help jailed Scot
"A cross-party group of MPs have repeatedly raised concerns with the Foreign Secretary about Jaggi's plight, yet Dominic Raab continues to turn a blind eye to the family's campaign for justice.
"Despite countless court hearings, my constituent – a British citizen – remains incarcerated in an Indian prison without conviction nor any credible evidence presented against him."
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