Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh activist from Scotland, was freed from a Delhi prison after the Delhi High Court threatened the Indian government with contempt proceedings for holding him despite a bail order issued on 18 September. Johal, detained since November 2017 on terrorism charges linked to alleged killings in Punjab (India's northwestern state) in 2016-17, has never faced a full trial; he denies the charges and says any confessions were extracted under torture. His release has eased a long-running source of UK-India diplomatic tension, but his family and the campaign group Reprieve stress that he still faces trial and a possible death penalty, and his bail restricts his travel and contact with the media.