USCIRF raises fresh concerns over India’s treatment of religious minorities, FoRB prisoners
Urges probe into Sikh activist Johal's arbitrary detention and torture, seeks release of other detainees
Washington: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has raised fresh concerns over New Delhi’s treatment of religious minorities and prolonged detention of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) prisoners, urging the US Department of State to press Indian authorities to release other detainees following the grant of bail to British-born Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal after nearly nine years in arbitrary detention.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a statement, USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said, “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.”
He said, “Under the terms of his bail, Johal was required to surrender his passport, is banned from communicating with the press, and still faces the death penalty in eight charges against him.”
USCIRF said that Indian authorities unjustly arrested Johal in 2017 on false charges of murder and terrorism under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). It said several United Nations special rapporteurs have characterized the law as noncompliant with international standards and India’s international obligations.
Prior to his arrest, USCIRF said, Johal had blogged about human rights abuses against India’s Sikh community, which it described as protected under international law regarding freedom of expression.
The Commission noted that Johal’s trial faced continuous delays throughout his detention, and authorities failed to produce credible evidence against him. It said the United Nations recognized Johal’s imprisonment as arbitrary detention in 2022 and more recently described it as amounting to psychological torture. It further said that Johal had reported being physically tortured by authorities with electric shocks, sleep deprivation, stress positions and threats to his life, ultimately leading to a forced confession.
USCIRF urged the US government to press Indian authorities to conduct a full investigation into Johal’s detention and treatment and to hold perpetrators of such particularly severe violations accountable in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act.
USCIRF Vice Chair CeCe Heil said, “Johal’s case is demonstrative of a larger pattern by the Indian government to silence or imprison religious minorities. 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 said in recent years, the Indian government had even gone so far as to orchestrate assassinations and assassination attempts against members of the Sikh community in North America in clear acts of transnational repression meant to intimidate, coerce, and harass the diaspora.
Notably, USCIRF recommended in its 2026 Annual Report that the State Department designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.
The Commission also raised poor religious freedom conditions in India during its May hearing, “Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions in India,” and in its “India Country Brief” publication in August
