Deaf charity worker Ian Stillman has been held in an Indian jail for more than two years while his parents and family tirelessly campaign for his release. Lindsay Jennings reports on the battle for his freedom.

THE neat English garden with its colourful borders and mature trees would look quite at home within the pages of Country Living magazine. But its modest owners, Roy and Monica Stillman, admit its been a bit neglected of late. Instead of dedicating their retirement years to pottering around their garden, Roy, 78, and Monica, 79, have been involved in a frustrating two-year battle to free their son from an Indian jail. Their days are taken up replying to the dozens of letters, e-mails and faxes of support they receive each day from across the world and spreading the word about the injustice of their son's case.

There is also the media to deal with and, as is the case today, spending afternoons patiently going over Ian's story with journalists in the quiet of their sitting room.

Ian, who has been profoundly deaf since he was two-years-old and lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in 1995, was in the Kullu Valley in northern India on August 27, 2000, when he was arrested. The 51-year-old charity worker was exploring areas to expand Namibikkai - the rural Christian project he set up with his Indian-born wife Sue to provide education, training and job opportunities for young deaf adults.

It was 10pm, dark, and he was asleep at the back of a public taxi heading back to his hotel when it stopped at a police checkpoint. Ian was bustled out of the taxi, but in the darkness he could not see to read the officers' lips. Barely comprehending what was going around him, the police said they had found a bag containing 20kg of cannabis in the taxi, and claimed it had been on Ian's lap. He was then charged with the illegal possession of cannabis.

Thousands of miles away in Tadcaster Road, York, Roy and Monica, were visited by daughter Alison, from Leeds, who broke the news of Ian's arrest.

"We couldn't believe it. We thought it must be a misunderstanding, just a blip because they had the wrong man and it wouldn't take too long to sort out," recalls Roy, a retired headmaster. "It is laughable that a deaf amputee could carry 20 kilograms - that's the weight of an airport bag - when he needs crutches or a walking stick to get around. Nor could they produce anyone else who could have carried the bag for him. Ian even disputes ever seeing it in the taxi."

Ian had worked in India for almost 30 years and set up the Nambikkai foundation in southern India in 1978. He became a world-renowned aid pioneer among the deaf, even advising the Indian Government on the rights of deaf people.

It is rare for profoundly deaf people to be able to speak, but Ian, was fortunate enough to be taught as a youngster by retired teacher of the deaf, Jennie Ross, using her own unique method of throat and nasal sounds.

Being able to use speech gave Ian the confidence to achieve anything in a hearing world, a message he passionately believed in and conveyed to his students. But, ironically, it is also the reason why he is languishing in a jail in northern India - because he can speak, the courts do not believe he is deaf.

At his trial, Ian was refused a deaf interpreter and was unable to understand Hindi. On June 2, 2001, he was sentenced to ten years in prison and at a High Court hearing in January this year, the court also refused to believe he was deaf, turning down his appeal. To add further to the Stillmans' pain, the Indian Supreme Court then upheld the High Court's ruling in May this year.

Says Roy: "Ian is his own man. If he has an idea, he'll go for it and tell you about it afterwards and it would never have occurred to him that something like this would happen. I think it's the first time in his life that he felt completely helpless."

His family are at a loss as to why he has been targeted. But the Stillmans point out that in the weeks leading to his arrest there had been a media outcry in Europe against the authorities in Himachal, Pradesh, near where Ian was arrested, blaming them for a lack of action against the drug gangs in the region. The day before Ian's arrest, a BBC crew was due in the area to film how the Kullu police were tackling the gangs, which they blamed on "foreigners". The next day they had a foreign drug smuggler in custody.

In a further twist, the Superintendent of Kullu Police told the Indian newspapers that Ian had a police record in Britain and was wanted by Interpol. Being deaf was just a cover for the Mafia drug dealing operations he was involved in. This was strongly refuted by the British Government.

Ian's 23-year-old son, Lennie, has moved from London where he worked in computer web design to Shimla, northern India, where his father is jailed. Roy, who managed to visit his son in February, admits it is difficult for his grandson. "It is hard for Lennie," he says. "Naturally he wants to get on with his own life. His only source of support are the people who own the hotel."

In England, the Stillmans and Ian's three sisters, Elspeth, Jennifer, Alison and their husbands are now focusing on their bid for a Presidential Pardon. The petition to release Ian has more than 71,000 signatures - they hope to get 100,000 - and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is continuing to put pressure on his Indian counterparts.

The Stillmans, who both attend York Evangelical Church, remain hopeful about their son's freedom. They are strong in a very best of British way and as Monica says: "It's no good getting into a heap, is it?" They still have time to enjoy their 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild - even if the garden is slightly neglected.

Says Roy: "We have phenomenal support, not only from our family, but from all our friends. We all belong to churches and there are church congregations all over the world that are involved, and that kind of support adds up to something. It's very strong and we don't really have any sleepless nights because we know we've got this support. People are all convinced that it will come right and as Ian himself says about the timing of his release, it is in God's hands."

But the Stillmans admit they are worried about their son's deteriorating health. Ian has diabetes and has been suffering phantom limb pains in his amputated leg and it has been a battle to get adequate medical treatment. It was agreed in principle three months ago to move him from his prison at Kanda near Shimla in the north to Chennai in the south where he could be near his family and have access to better medical treatment. But the authorities have recently ruled out the move, a decision the family has pledged to fight.

The couple say they have no doubts Ian will continue with his pioneering work helping the deaf in India when he is eventually released because he feels his work is unfinished. But one of the saddest effects of his incarceration is that it has deeply shaken his faith in deaf people prospering in a hearing world.

Says Roy: "He taught his pupils that they could survive in a hearing world and if he could be independent, then so could they. He was incredibly confident. Now, to some extent, he feels he's failed them because he's not remained independent, but we've tried to reassure him that when it comes right it will all fit back into perspective, because he will have triumphed, even in this situation."