The family of a British man who has been detained in India for seven years without trial has urged the UK Government to intervene.
Christian Michel is accused of bribing Indian officials to win a multimillion-dollar helicopter contract for British-Italian defence company AgustaWestland, which was signed in 2010.
He denies the charge.
The 63-year-old was extradited from the United Arab Emirates to India in 2018 and has been in custody in New Delhiâs Tihar Jail ever since.
Christian has served the maximum sentence for the alleged offence he was extradited for â seven years â but has still not been released.
This is despite an Indian law which permits under-trial prisoners to seek release if they have served more than half of the maximum sentence for their alleged offences.
Christianâs son Alois Michel, 28, said the UK Government has so far done ânothingâ to help his father, but he met with Foreign Office minister Catherine West on Tuesday to urge the Government to press for his fatherâs immediate release.
Alois told the PA news agency: âMy father Christian Michel is a British citizen. He has been illegally detained in India and has already completed the maximum sentence of seven years for the charge against him; that, too, without trial.
âEven the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2020 confirmed that serious human rights violations were taking place and that he should be released immediately. The UK Government, however, did nothing.
âWe have requested the UK Government to file an application to the International Court of Justice, given there is no judicial option left for my father in IndiaâŠ
âThe British people gave the Labour Party a strong majority in the hope of restoring the honour and strength of our country.
âBut so far our hopes havenât been fulfilled. We now truly expect them to act against the unlawful behaviour of a Commonwealth country.â
He added that India has âviolated its own constitution and international lawâ by failing to abide by its own Extradition Act, which asserts that no new charges can be added following extradition to India unless the person commits a new offence after their arrival.
Christian was initially accused by Indiaâs Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of being a key intermediary in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, which led to a loss of approximately ÂŁ344 million to the Indian exchequer, and was accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of receiving around ÂŁ25.9 million as kickbacks from the deal.
He is now also facing additional charges of forgery of valuable security, which carries severe penalties including life imprisonment.
Alois told PA that this charge was added âin an illegal mannerâ and that it is being used as a reason not to let his father leave prison.
He added that, although his father was offered bail by the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, they are afraid that if he accepts, he will then be charged with âanother trumped-up offenceâ.
He said: âIn India, today, there is no accountability, no protection and no security.â
Alois said he met Foreign Office minister Ms West with âsome clear requests from my fatherâ, the main one being that the Government brings the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
He explained that he did not manage to get any commitments from her, but was told that they will âhave a lookâ at his requests.
Alois said he walked away with âmixed feelingsâ, because: âI am grateful that we are for the first time being heard by government, but Iâm not seeing any actions at the same time, which makes me even more desperate, because they are hearing us, but theyâre not doing anything.â
However, he was told that his father is âone of their top priorities in international diplomacyâ, so he hopes they will âmake things move forward in the upcoming weeks or monthsâ.
Alois spoke of the âemotional gapâ left by his fatherâs absence, which he described as âthe most joyous person I knowâ and âthe most open-hearted person Iâve known in my lifeâ.
He said: âIn seven years, I only had one time with my father where I was able to speak with him for more than five minutes. Most of the time itâs less than 30 seconds and the frequency is quite rare.â
Aloisâ sister Alienor Michel, who has not seen her father since she was 14 years old, told PA: âThe most important years of my life; which is growing from a little girl to an adult, was spent without my father. Years where I needed him the most.
âI will never get these moments back. I need him to come back home so that he wonât miss the time where I grow as a young adult.â
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
