Ian Stillman (1950 – 25 May 2016) was a deaf British
aid worker
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...
from
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...
, England, in the United Kingdom, whose imprisonment and subsequent release from prison in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
garnered media attention. Together with his wife Sue, he founded the Nambikkai Foundation.
Stillman's mission was sponsored by the
Carey Baptist Church
Carey Baptist Church is an independent evangelical/Baptist church in Reading, England. "Imprisoned deaf missionary sent by town church," 4 July 2001, GetSurrey.
Stillman attended
Crosfields School
Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District. Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming phy ...
in Reading and then
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...
.
According to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
, Stillman, "a deaf charity worker who has lived in India for nearly 30 years, was arrested (in 2001) after
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
was found in a taxi he had hired." "Fury as deaf charity worker jailed", 25 June 2001, BBC.
Stillman's attorney's claimed that Stillman, who is
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
and well known in India for his charitable work with the deaf, was the victim of "a gross miscarriage of justice." Stephen Jakobi of the advocacy organisation
Fair Trials International
Fair Trials is a UK-registered non-governmental organization which works for fair trials according to international standards of justice and the right to a fair trial, identifying where criminal justice is failing, alerting the world to the probl ...
told the press that "It is the most horrific case I've ever seen of an innocent man being done down by law.""Deaf aid worker appeals over drug sentence", 25 June 2001, Paul Peachey, The Independent.
The United Kingdom Council on Deafness collected tens of thousands of signatures on a petition to the Indian government asking for Stillman's release.
He was released following successful intervention by Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
and the Foreign Secretary. "Early day motion 321." 9 Dec 2002,
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
.Luke Hardin "Dream trip that turned into an Indian jail nightmare", 8 January 2003, The Guardian.
Stillman died on 25 May 2016 in Norfolk, England.
Interview
* "Free at last!
Jonathan Stephen
Jonathan may refer to:
*Jonathan (name), a masculine given name
Media
* ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer
* ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski
* ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
interviews Ian Stillman for EN," Evangelical Now, March 2003.