A petition calling for the immediate release of a deaf and disabled British charity worker jailed in India for drug smuggling is to be handed to the Indian High Commission.

Ian Stillman from Berkshire was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by an Indian court in 2000 for possessing 20 kilograms of cannabis - a charge he has always denied.

People fighting for his release will hand in the 75,000 signature petition on Friday - exactly two years after Mr Stillman was arrested.

They will also take a letter for Tony Blair, written by the 51-year-old, to Downing Street.

Unfair trial

Mr Stillman's family, who went to see him in February, have been leading an international campaign for his release.

His supporters claim his trial was unfair as no provision was made for his deafness.

Although he can lip-read English and understand sign language, proceedings were conducted in Hindi.

Elsbeth Dugdale, Mr Stillman's sister, said they were appealing to Tony Blair to call for his release after being refused a request to transfer Mr Stillman on medical grounds.

'Health worries'

She told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that Mr Stillman was "extremely disappointed" about the rejection.

Ms Dugdale continued: "The point of that would have been to be much closer...to his family and receive better medical facilities.

"In his spirits (Ian) is still quite good, quite strong but extremely disappointed to have to stay in the north at the moment and extremely worried about his own health."

James Strachan, chief executive of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, is calling on the UK government to support Mr Stillman's application for a presidential pardon.

He said: "This is a miscarriage of justice that cannot be allowed to stand."

While travelling in a taxi late at night in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, in an area called the Kullu Valley, Mr Stillman was stopped by police.

Later, at the police station, he says he was shown a bag, which is alleged to have contained 20 kilograms of cannabis and told this had been found in his car.

He has eights years of his sentence left to serve.