A CAMPAIGNING York vicar knows more than most about how deaf charity worker Ian Stillman felt as he faced a legal system beyond his control.

Twice, while working in Zambia, the vicar of Dringhouses, the Rev Martin Baldock, was arrested for something he had not done.

In August 2000, Ian, 51, who lost a leg after a road accident and whose parents live opposite Mr Baldock's church in Tadcaster Road, was arrested for possession of cannabis, despite denying any knowledge of it.

But two huge differences separate the cases.

Mr Baldock was released, while Ian is serving a ten-year sentence in a prison in northern India. And, being profoundly deaf and being denied a sign language translator, Ian was unable to understand what was going on during his arrest and trial, or play a part in his defence.

This has led to one human rights lawyer calling his case "the worst miscarriage of justice I have dealt with".

"When I heard about Ian's case, I thought that could so easily be me," said Mr Baldock.

"I remember how it felt when the police came and took me away, I remember the fear and the uncertainty, thinking I could be facing years in prison. Having heard about Ian's case, hearing about him as a man and from what I know of his parents, I know he is innocent. I have an inkling of how he must feel."

Mr Baldock was firstly accused of being a Rhodesian spy while visiting Victoria Falls. The second time he was arrested he was accused of contempt of court because, while working as a pharmacist, he was unable to go to court to identify antibiotics that authorities had thought were stolen.

He also has a good measure of how long Ian has been locked up.

"I moved to York in August 2000, the month Ian was arrested," he said.

"All the time I have been in this city, he has been in an Indian prison."

Mr Baldock heard about the arrest in December 2000. He visited Ian's parents, and immediately gave them his support.

He has spoken about Ian, who has spent nearly 30 years in India building a workshop for the deaf, from the pulpit and, for months, a sign outside the church read Free Ian Stillman.

"People used to ask me who Ian Stillman was," he said.

"I would explain the case to them, and everybody would agree how unjust it was."

Last week, the Evening Press launched a campaign to free Ian, urging readers to sign a petition which will be handed to the Indian High Commission.

Members of Mr Baldock's congregation immediately signed it.

"I feel Ian has been let down by the Foreign Office," he said.

"They have a duty to protect British citizens abroad, and they are not doing that. They may be applying diplomatic pressure behind the scenes, but there comes a time when that is inadequate. That time has come, and I would like to see our Government intervene directly.

"I believe one of Ian's problems is his deafness. He is suffering because of the Hindu belief that disability is caused by some sin of the past. Ian's case involves more than injustice against an individual. If he is released, it would be a wake-up call on behalf of disabled people across the sub-continent, that disabled people have a voice the same as anyone else."

The Evening Press petition can be signed and collected at our offices in York and Malton as well as printed off from This is York.

Updated: 11:35 Wednesday, April 03, 2002