INDIA REJECTS UN PANEL REPORT ON CHRISTIAN MICHEL

NEW DELHI: India on Friday rejected the reported findings of UN experts that Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the Agustawestland VVIP helicopter deal, was being arbitrarily detained and described their conclusions as biased and contrary to facts.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), which operates under the UN high commissioner for human rights, said that Michel, who has been held in India since December 2018 after being extradited from United Arab Emirates, should be immediately released, according to conclusions reported by AFP. WGAD’S report is yet to be released.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said there were selective leaks of the opinion of WGAD on Michel’s case. “We regret that the conclusions drawn by the Working Group are based on limited information, biased allegations from an unidentified source and on an inaccurate understanding of India’s criminal justice system,” he said.