Jagtar Singh Johal: The British Citizen That Britain Has Forgotten
"Jagtar Singh Johal’s continued imprisonment is a national shame. Without his community’s tireless advocacy, he would already be forgotten."
Mankamal Singh
December 11, 2025 | 2 min. read | Opinion
Nearly eight years of detention without resolution should spark national outrage. In the case of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal, it has not.
Scottish-born blogger and archivist Jagtar Singh Johal travelled to India in 2017 to get married. Weeks later, he was abducted by the police and charged with flimsy allegations of involvement in terrorism-related activities under draconian laws. He has always maintained his innocence.
UN experts have ruled his detention arbitrary, while human rights organisations have raised serious concerns about torture and forced confessions. Earlier this year, he was acquitted on the main charge, with the court highlighting the lack of credible evidence.
However, he remains behind bars, and the UK government has offered nothing more than “concerns” and “empty statements.”
If it were not for his family and grassroots Sikh groups, Jagtar would have been erased entirely from public consciousness.
No national headlines. No primetime documentaries. No dramatisations to humanise his story. By contrast, other British detainees abroad have received sustained media coverage and political attention, generating public pressure that helped secure their release. Jagtar has had none of this.
Into the vacuum stepped people with no institutional power and no broadcasting platform. His brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, has turned personal anguish into public advocacy, lobbying MPs and holding governments to account. Sikh Youth UK has kept the issue alive among younger Sikhs, and Sikh Federation UK has pursued sustained political engagement. Their efforts alone have kept Jagtar’s name from disappearing.
The silence raises an uncomfortable question: would this have happened if Jagtar were not a Sikh? When white, middle-class Britons face wrongful detention abroad, the machinery of the state and media mobilises quickly. When a British Sikh man is detained, urgency appears optional.
This is more than a diplomatic failure; it is a reflection of whose stories Britain values and whose it does not. Jagtar Singh Johal’s continued imprisonment is a national shame. Without his community’s tireless advocacy, he would already be forgotten.
A British citizen has spent nearly a decade detained, and the UK has yet to show the same urgency or commitment shown in other cases. If Britain claims all citizens are equal, their actions must match that claim.
The fight for Jagtar Singh Johal is not just about one man’s freedom; it is about justice, equality, and the value democratic countries place on all their citizens. Eight years of arbitrary detention is a national shame for Britain.
It is a test of the Sikh diaspora’s courage and determination. We must keep raising our voices, organising, and demanding action. If we remain silent, Jagtar may be forgotten - and with him, the principles we claim to uphold.
Freedom for Jagtar Singh Johal is not negotiable. It is a duty, and it is long overdue.
Mankamal Singh is a London based Sikh who is an advisor to The Sikh Network and is one of the hosts of ‘The Sikh Network Podcast.’ He has served on the Sikh Council UK, local Gurdwara committees and several public committees. You can follow Mankamal Singh on Twitter at @MankamalSingh.
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