Family of British man held in India for seven years without trial ask foreign office to help

The family of a British man held in India without trial for seven years for alleged corruption has demanded the government intervene to secure his release.

Christian Michel, 63, has been held since 2018, accused of bribing Indian officials to win a multimillion-dollar helicopter contract. He denies the allegations.

Investigators say he was paid almost £26m in kickbacks for his part in a 2010 deal won by British-Italian defence company AgustaWestland, which they estimate cost the Indian exchequer around £344m. The deal, for 12 luxury helicopters, was cancelled in 2014 amid the corruption allegations.

His son Alois Michel, who met Foreign Office minister Catherine West on Tuesday, said the UK government has so far done "nothing" to help his father. While he said he didn't get any commitments from Ms West during their meeting, he said she told him the foreign office will "have a look" at his requests, the main one being that the government bring the case to the International Criminal Court (ICJ).

Christian has been held in New Delhi's Tihar Jail since being extradited to the country from the United Arab Emirates. Indian law allows under-trial prisoners to seek release if they have served more than half of the maximum sentence for their alleged offences.

Mr Michel has served the maximum term for his alleged offence - seven years. Alois said his father "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.

"Even 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.

He said they "truly expect them [ministers] to act against the unlawful behaviour of a Commonwealth country". India has "violated its own constitution and international law" 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.

Read more on Sky News:Family ready for air crash court battleMillions new cancer cases warningSpaceX test flight success He is now also facing additional charges of forgery of valuable security, which carries severe penalties, including life imprisonment. At a hearing at the Delhi High Court earlier this month, a judge said the offence can carry a life sentence, so it "cannot be said that the accused has already undergone the period of maximum punishment prescribed for the alleged offences".

That charge was added "in an illegal manner.