USCIRF urges Washington to press India to release minority prisoners

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged Washington to press India to release other religious freedom prisoners after a British-born Sikh activist was granted bail following nearly nine years in detention, according to a statement issued by USCIRF on Friday. The commission, according to the statement, said the Indian government had continued to use terrorism laws to detain religious minorities, citing the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, who was arrested in 2017 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). “We welcome the New Delhi High Court’s decision to grant bail to Jagtar Singh Johal, after nearly nine years of unlawful suffering in arbitrary detention. However, uncertainty remains regarding his return to the United Kingdom and reunification with his family,” USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said. Under the terms of his bail, Johal was required to surrender his passport and was “banned from communicating with the press”, while still facing the death penalty on eight charges, Mahmood said. Johal was arrested on what USCIRF called “false charges of murder and terrorism” after blogging about alleged human rights abuses against India’s Sikh community. PRESS RELEASE: India Continues to Weaponize Terrorism Laws to Detain Religious Minorities https://t.co/wNG7eexD30 — USCIRF (@USCIRF) September 24, 2026 Several United Nations special rapporteurs had characterised the UAPA as non-compliant with international standards and India’s international obligations, according to the commission. USCIRF said Johal’s trial had faced continuous delays during his detention and that authorities had failed to produce credible evidence against him. The United Nations recognised his imprisonment as arbitrary detention in 2022 and more recently described it as amounting to “psychological torture”, the commission said. Johal had also reported being physically tortured through electric shocks, sleep deprivation, stress positions and threats to his life, ultimately leading to what USCIRF described as a forced confession. The commission in its handout urged the US government to press Indian authorities to conduct a full investigation into Johal’s detention and treatment and hold those responsible accountable under the International Religious Freedom Act. “Johal’s case is demonstrative of a larger pattern by the Indian government to silence or imprison religious minorities,” USCIRF Vice Chair CeCe Heil said. “Several other FoRB prisoners, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, continue to languish in pre-trial detention for perceived UAPA violations, for simply engaging in peaceful protest,” she added. Heil, in the statement, also accused the Indian government of “orchestrating assassinations and assassination attempts” against members of the Sikh community in North America, calling them “clear acts of transnational repression meant to intimidate, coerce, and harass the diaspora”. In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the US State Department designate India as a Country of Particular Concern over what it called “systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations”. The commission also raised concerns about religious freedom conditions in India during a May hearing and in an India country brief published in August.