Global Sikh Bodies Condemn Unprecedented UK Sanctions Against Rehal
"The consequences are extraordinary. A British resident has been publicly branded a terror financier without being charged, tried, or convicted of any crime under UK law."
Jasveer Singh
December 12, 2025 | 4 min. read | Opinion
What is happening to Gurpreet Singh Rehal should alarm every Sikh and every person who believes in civil liberties in Britain.
In an unprecedented move, the UK government has imposed sanctions on Rehal, a well-known Sikh activist, using the Domestic Counter-Terrorism Regime for being “suspected of belonging to organisations involved in terrorism in India.” This is the first time this framework has been used in this way. The consequences are extraordinary. A British resident has been publicly branded a terror financier without being charged, tried, or convicted of any crime under UK law.
The response from the Sikh world has been swift and united.
More than 200 Sikh organisations across 12 countries and three continents have issued a joint condemnation of the UK decision. Organisations from England, Scotland, Canada, the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy and New Zealand have warned that this action signals something far more dangerous than the targeting of one individual.
“The sanctions look to be based on unverified and unscrutinised intelligence, likely supplied by foreign authorities, such as India, with a vested interest in silencing him and his work. This lack of independent judicial review or oversight gives the perception of institutional racism, where a political agenda trumps the civil liberties of an ethnic minority group,” the joint press release reads.
Their concern is clear. It appears the UK authorities have coordinated closely with the Indian state to suppress research and commentary on human rights abuses in India. If true, this represents a chilling escalation of India’s campaign of transnational repression now operating with the cooperation of a Western democracy.
Gurpreet Singh Rehal is not a militant. He is not a clandestine figure. He is a public educator, entrepreneur and commentator whose work is widely known across the Punjabi diaspora. Through his platform Saving Punjab, Rehal has focused on governance, infrastructure, environmental degradation and human rights in Punjab. That focus alone appears to have placed him in the crosshairs of the Indian state.
Saving Punjab has reached millions since its launch in 2017. Its content is shared by artists, Sikh organisations, academics, politicians and ordinary Punjabis across the world. Rehal has built a reputation for explaining complex political realities in accessible language. He has done so openly, publicly and peacefully.
That is precisely why he is perceived as dangerous.
Rehal has spoken on international stages, including the 2023 United Nations Water Conference in New York, where he addressed global diplomats on the diversion of Punjab's river waters and the long-term impact on its people. None of this activity is illegal. None of it is violent. None of it meets any reasonable definition of terrorism.
But it does challenge the narrative of the Indian state.
India has long equated Sikh political consciousness with extremism. The mere discussion of Sikh self-determination is framed as a security threat. The word Khalistan has been deliberately weaponised as a dog whistle to discredit dissent and shut down debate. Education itself has become suspect.
Punjabi Sikhs have repeatedly shown that their resistance is mass based and peaceful. The Farmers’ Protest of 2020 and 2021 was one of the largest civil resistance movements in modern history. More recently students in Punjab have mobilised against repression through protest, not violence. Yet the Indian state continues to respond with surveillance, intimidation and increasingly, assassination.
The danger is no longer confined to India.
Rehal is not far removed from those already lost. In 2023, Avtar Singh Khanda, a UK-based Sikh activist connected to Sikh rights advocacy, died in Birmingham under highly suspicious circumstances. That same year, Rehal spoke at a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, only months after its president, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was assassinated outside the very same place of worship.
Despite this context, much of the British media reported the sanctions against Rehal with little scrutiny. The lack of critical interrogation reveals how easily a Sikh man can be criminalised in the public imagination. No evidence is required. No trial is necessary. The accusation alone is enough.
The absurdity of the campaign against Rehal is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that some Indian nationalists are now linking him to the 1985 Air India bombing, an attack that occurred before he was even born. This tactic is familiar. It mirrors what was done to Jagtar Singh Johal, to the West Midlands Three, and to countless other Sikhs whose only crime was dissent.
Recent fabricated claims by Indian authorities including disputed bombing allegations in Punjab and highly publicised arrests later called into question by international agencies further undermine the credibility of Indias terror narratives. Yet these claims continue to shape foreign policy decisions abroad.
It is increasingly difficult to ignore the role of trade and geopolitics in the UKs posture. Despite public commitments made to Sikh communities before elections, the British government appears eager to align with India regardless of the cost to human rights. Silencing Rehal avoids scrutiny. A court case would invite it.
This is what makes the Rehal case so dangerous. If the state can bypass the courts to punish speech, then no one is safe. Counter terrorism laws become instruments of political convenience rather than public protection.
This is not just about Gurpreet Singh Rehal. It is about precedent. It is about whether Britain is willing to allow a foreign government to export repression onto its soil. It is about whether dissent, education and political thought can now be criminalised by administrative decree.
Rehal may be the first person in the UK to face this kind of sanction without any real due process. If there is no resistance, he will not be the last.
Jasveer Singh hails from Southall, UK, and is the Senior Press Officer of The Sikh Press Association, a position he has held since 2015. In this role, Jasveer works across all sectors of media supporting Sikh organisations and individuals on Panthic endeavours. Jasveer previously worked as a freelance journalist, which included stints with Sky News, Super Fight League, and more. You can find Jasveer on Twitter at @Jazzthejourno.
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