Pannun assassination plot: What is consular access that India got to Nikhil Gupta?

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the allegation of India’s involvement in the plot to assassinate Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday evening in its press briefing said that India had been granted consular access to Nikhil Gupta, who is currently lodged in a Czech prison on the accusation of being involved in the plot to murder Pannun. We take a closer look at what does consular access mean and the protocols surrounding it. Was India granted consular access to Nikhil Gupta? Earlier on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in his briefing to the media said that India had received consular access on three occasions to Nikhil Gupta, who has been in a jail in the Czech capital of Prague following the United States accusing him of involvement in a foiled plot to kill Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. “An Indian national is currently in the custody of the Czech authorities pending a request for extradition to the US. We have received consular access at least on three occasions,” Bagchi said when asked about Gupta.

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Bagchi also added that India is extending necessary consular assistance to Gupta. The MEA spokesperson further added that New Delhi has taken the allegations seriously, adding “inputs” have been provided by the US side and a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted to look into all relevant aspects of the matter. This remark was a response on India-American Congressmen earlier stating that the alleged assassination plot could impact ties between the two countries. For the unaware, the US has charged Nikhil Gupta for his involvement in the plot to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. In its indictment, US federal authorities charged Gupta with conspiring to hire a hitman to assassinate Pannun. Furthermore, the US has filed an extradition appeal with Czech authorities. At the same time, Gupta’s family has also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, alleging that he is being “ tortured” in custody and seeking India’s intervention. The plea in court stated that the 52-year-old is being forced to eat beef and pork despite being a devout Hindu. What is consular access? So, what is this consular access that the MEA is talking about? Consular access is the ability of nationals to have access to consulate or embassy officials of their own country in a foreign nation. In layman’s term, consular access is the ability of a country to have access, physical or via communication with officials of their own country while in a foreign country. It is clearly laid out under Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963. Article 36 of this treaty states that “foreign nationals who are arrested or detained be given notice without delay of their right to have their embassy or consulate notified of that arrest. If the detained foreign national so requests, the police must fax that notice to the embassy or consulate, which can then check up on the person. The notice to the consulate can be as simple as a fax, giving the person’s name, the place of arrest, and, if possible, something about the reason for the arrest or detention.” It additionally expresses that the captured national has the option to normal interview with their consulate’s officials during their detainment and trial. [caption id=“attachment_13535032” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In the arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav, India had moved the ICJ, seeking consular access to the former Naval officer. Pakistan had initially refused access, saying spies weren’t covered under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963. File image/AFP[/caption] Has consular access been denied in the past? Yes. India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) following the arrest of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav and in 2019, the ICJ held Pakistan guilty of violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). Pakistan had argued that espionage cases fall outside the scope of protection of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963. However, following the ICJ ruling, Islamabad had granted consular access to India in the Jadhav case. The 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017. Prior to its second consular meeting in 2020, New Delhi had stated that India had requested Pakistan more than 12 times to provide unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav. [caption id=“attachment_13535042” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] US journalist Evan Gershkovich stands inside a defendants’ cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia. File image/AFP[/caption] More recently, Russia denied the United States access to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a Moscow prison. The US State Department said it had sought a meeting with Gershkovich on 25 May, but Moscow denied it. When asked about it, Russia’s foreign ministry had linked the move to a complaint that its journalists didn’t get US visas to travel with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations in New York in April. And just days ago, the United Kingdom pressed on Hong Kong for consular access to jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai, whose national security trial began on Monday. It’s important to note that in the case of the eight Navy veterans sentenced to death by a Qatar court, India was granted consular access to them on 3 December. The MEA in a statement said, “Our ambassador got consular access to meet all eight of them in prison on 3 December.” This came after the Indian embassy in Doha had received consular access to the detained veterans in November. With inputs from agencies