THE wife of imprisoned charity worker Ian Stillman today warned he could die in an Indian jail if he is not freed soon.

Speaking to the Evening Press from her home in Madras, Yesumani told of her fears that he cannot stay alive for much longer.

"He will not be able to survive, and I hope and pray that he is released very quickly," she said.

"On medical grounds alone, he should be released now."

Ian, 51, whose elderly parents live in Tadcaster Road, York, had a leg amputated after a road accident.

Medical reports confirmed he is suffering life-threatening circulation problems, made worse by conditions in his cell.

But despite expert diagnosis he still has not received treatment.

His family fear a bail application lodged will be postponed until after a two-month summer court recess.

Ian was jailed last year for possession of 20kg of cannabis, a charge he has always denied.

Yesumani, who is known as Sue, said: "I have known him and lived with him for 27 years.

"He is an incredibly caring and honest man, and I know he would not have done this. He would not have been interested in drugs in the least. "Something has happened, and I feel he has been used as a scapegoat. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I know he is innocent of this."

Ian and Sue, both committed Christians, met nearly 30 years ago when they were both working with the deaf in India.

They married three years later, and set up the Nambikkai Foundation, a charity which has so far helped teach more than 1,000 deaf Indians independence skills.

The couple also work with deaf schools nationally, and Ian was a Government adviser on deaf issues.

"I'm trying to continue the charity work that we started, but it's difficult on my own and it's obvious I am missing a second person," said Sue.

"Ian's imprisonment has been a major blow, and we miss the leadership that he gave. We need him very badly.

"Everybody who knows him knows there has been an injustice done to him, and they can't believe it. I can't believe it has happened myself. This man is so caring and he has done so much for India, and I can't accept that he is in prison. It makes me very angry and frustrated."

The couple's 23-year-old son, Lennie, has moved to Simla, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to be close to his father's prison.

But Sue and their 20-year-old autistic daughter, Anita, are based in Madras, thousands of miles away.

"I try to see him every two or three months, but it is at the extreme end of the country and it takes me more than 100 hours to get there by train.

"Sometimes I fly, which takes a day, but the expense of that is too much.

"I am praying that he will be allowed home," said Sue.

Updated: 11:27 Wednesday, May 01, 2002