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Christian Michel’s lawyers ask UN to secure release
The communication was filed by Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
London-based lawyers acting on behalf of Christian Michel, currently in jail in India for his alleged role in corruption in the sale of AgustaWestland helicopters in 2010, have filed an “urgent communication” with UN bodies, seeking their intervention to secure his release.
The communication was filed in Geneva on Tuesday by Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The communication alleges Michel, a British national, was “unlawfully handed” over to India by authorities in Dubai in a move reminiscent of rendition. It adds that the Italian high court had reportedly earlier rejected his involvement in the scandal due to lack of evidence.
“The process by which Mr Michel was extradited to India did not follow due process and further, is a clear attempt to override international protocols relating to the process. The process that led to his removal from the UAE can only be described as a flagrant denial of justice that circumvented due process and seriously undermines any purported commitment to the rule of law,” it states.
“It is quite clear that the level of political interference with the case was such that it is devoid of an independent judicial process and can only be characterised an unlawful transfer from one state to another that is reminiscent of rendition,” a statement from the law firm said.
There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the development. A person familiar with developments said Indian authorities were waiting for the response of the UN bodies to the communication.
The communication alleges Michel was handcuffed, blindfolded and transported by private jet, “clearly being taken in a hurried and unlawful manner without the ability to challenge any decision”, and raises questions about whether he will receive a fair trial.
According to the law firm, on arriving in India, Michel was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation for two weeks, with sessions lasting 14 hours or more without any breaks. He was then moved to a cell in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
“In filing this petition of complaint, Guernica requests that the UN Special Procedures Branch examine the circumstances of Mr Michel’s rendition, detention, and ongoing ill-treatment with a view to his release and exoneration being secured,” the law firm said.
Michel was arrested in the UAE and extradited to India on December 4. He is currently in judicial custody.
The Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the case with the CBI, filed a charge-sheet against Michel in 2016 that alleged he received 30 million euros (about ₹225 crore) from AgustaWestland, which was nothing but “kickbacks” to execute the 12-helicopter deal in favour of the firm.
Under the now-scrapped deal with AugustaWestland, a subsidiary of the Italian defence group Leonardo, which was formerly known as Finmeccanica, India agreed to buy the helicopters for ferrying VVIPs. The deal was inked in February 2010 and scrapped four years later over allegations that bribes had exchanged hands.
