Father's 7-Year Detention in India Tests UK Labour Government's Commitment to Human Rights

British national Christian Michel has spent seven years incarcerated in India's notorious Tihar Jail without trial, a case that has exhausted his family's patience with successive UK governments. His children, Alois and Alienor, held a protest outside Downing Street, demanding that their father be released unconditionally, citing India's law stipulating that a suspect must be released from prison once they have served half of what would have been the maximum sentence if they were convicted. Despite bail orders from the Delhi High Court and India's Supreme Court, Michel remains imprisoned due to inability to meet stringent conditions imposed, leaving his family in despair.

Key Takeaways:

• Christian Michel, a British national, has been detained for seven years in India's Tihar Jail without trial, sparking concerns over human rights violations.
• India's legal system is notoriously slow and overburdened, with a law stipulating that a suspect must be released from prison once they have served half of what would have been the maximum sentence if they were convicted.
• Michel's lawyers argue that he should be freed unconditionally, citing a UN ruling that his detention was arbitrary and calling for his immediate release.
• The UK government has miserably failed to address human rights violations across Commonwealth countries, particularly in India, according to Alois, Michel's son.
• The family has never visited Michel in India due to fear of arrest, and has never received a full explanation of the charges against him.
• Michel has alleged two separate attempts on his life in prison, claiming that a hired killer confessed to being paid to assassinate him, but no meaningful investigation was launched.
• The case has become a litmus test of the UK government's willingness to protect its citizens abroad, particularly when it risks complicating lucrative diplomatic engagements.
• Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and UK Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmertoasted signed a £6bn free trade agreement during Modi's visit, but Michel's detention was not raised publicly.

Statistics:

• 7 years: the length of time Christian Michel has spent in detention without trial.
• £6bn: the value of the free trade agreement signed between India and the UK.
• £5bn: the expected boost to Britain's GDP as a result of the trade agreement.
• 2021: the year in which the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that Michel's detention was arbitrary and called for his immediate release.
• 6: the number of months that Alois, Michel's son, has been receiving brief, choked phone calls from his father.

Sources:

• The Independent, "Father's 7-Year Detention in India Tests UK Labour Government's Commitment to Human Rights"
• UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, "Opinion No. 5/2021 (China)"
• Delhi High Court, "Order dated 20-02-2020 in W.P. (C) No. 5141 of 2019"