Ian Stillman (1950 – 25 May 2016) was a deaf British

aid worker Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. The primary objective of humanitarian a ...

from

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

, England, in the United Kingdom, whose imprisonment and subsequent release from prison in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

garnered media attention. Together with his wife Sue, he founded the Nambikkai Foundation. Stillman's mission was sponsored by the Carey Baptist Church.
"Imprisoned deaf missionary sent by town church," 4 July 2001, GetSurrey. Stillman attended Crosfields School in Reading and then

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private 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, having ...

. According to the

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, 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 that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

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 audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

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 pro ...

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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

and the Foreign Secretary.
"Early day motion 321." 9 Dec 2002,

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

.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 interviews Ian Stillman for EN," Evangelical Now, March 2003.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stillman, Ian British charity and campaign group workers 1950 births 2016 deaths Baptist missionaries in India English Baptist missionaries People educated at Leighton Park School 20th-century Baptists