Humza Yousaf has urged the prime minister to request the release of a Scottish Sikh blogger who has been imprisoned in India since 2017.
The first minister wrote to Rishi Sunak claiming that Jagtar Singh Johal had been wrongfully imprisoned and urging him to take a "direct approach.".
When he was detained on suspicion of a murder conspiracy, Mr. Singh Johal of Dumbarton was visiting Punjab for his wedding.
The death penalty might be applied to him.
His family alleges that he was subjected to torture, including electric shocks, before being forced to sign a blank confession form.
The Indian government has refuted these allegations.
Mr. Johal was a prominent blogger in Scotland who exposed past crimes against Sikhs in the Punjab region and violations of human rights.
He is being held in a number of prisons in India on charges that he paid for the purchase of weapons that were used to kill several right-wing Hindu religious and political figures in the Punjab.
He asserts that the accusations leveled against him and the political motivations behind his arrest and trial.
Earlier this month, Mr. Yousaf met Jagtar Singh Johal's brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, and vowed to continue advocating for his release.
The first minister wrote to Mr. Sunak and stated: "Jagtar has now spent more than 2,000 days in prison in India.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention came to the conclusion that Jagtar Singh Johal had been detained arbitrarily and that his detention had violated international human rights law in May 2022.
"The report made it crystal clear that Jagtar Singh Johal should be immediately released. But Jagtar is still behind bars.
"Therefore, in accordance with the unequivocal recommendation of the UN Working Group, I am writing to request that you directly contact the Indian government to request Jagtar's immediate release.
"This would provide the family with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the UK government prioritizes protecting a citizen who has been wrongfully imprisoned. ".
A response has been requested from the UK government.