YOUR response to the Evening Press campaign to free Ian Stillman is heartening. Nearly 3,000 people have now signed our petition, a fact which is giving Ian's family great encouragement.

The public reaction mirrors the scale of the injustice. Fair Trials Abroad director Stephen Jakobi calls it "the worst miscarriage of justice I have dealt with".

Ian is an extraordinary man: blighted by a double disability, he never wallowed in self-pity but instead chose to devote himself to others.

His foundation has helped thousands of deaf people in India. Yet his adopted country has treated him appallingly.

Ian was jailed for ten years after cannabis was found in a taxi he was travelling in. Even for someone who was guilty, this sentence is out of all proportion to the crime. But for Ian, who has always insisted on his innocence, it was a devastating blow.

His trial was a travesty. Profoundly deaf, he could not hear the case against him. Unable to read Hindi, he could not read the documentation. At every stage, he has been denied his human right to justice.

But Ian's plight has not been forgotten. Hundreds of Evening Press readers, plus leading church and political figures, are supporting him. Today, it emerged that the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, is backing the campaign. More than 200 MPs, four local members among them, have signed a House of Commons Early Day Motion demanding Ian's release. York MP Hugh Bayley is working closely with Ian's parents. Conservative MP Caroline Spelman has lobbied the Indian authorities.

We hope the Foreign Office is matching these efforts with strenuous, behind-the-scenes pressure.

Meanwhile, Andy Jenkins - who also backed our Free Ian Stillman campaign - is now a convicted spy. How ludicrous. If Andy and his fellow plane enthusiasts were guilty of anything, it was naivety.

This case should never have ended in a trial, let alone a conviction. We can only hope the Greek appeal courts prove to be more fair-minded than the one in Kalamata.

Fresh start

FACED with the clutter of modern life, most of us have dreamed of getting rid of all our possessions and making a fresh start.

Kaye Wainwright-Sands is braver than most of us, however. She is actually doing it. Tonight Kaye was selling everything she owned, save for what she could fit in one box.

From now on, her life will be far less comfortable and much more difficult. But the potential rewards from her work with Romanian children outweigh any material compensation. Kaye is travelling light, and we wish her luck on her journey.

Updated: 10:20 Monday, April 29, 2002