Aziz Ahmed, a British man, was arrested in India over extremism charges after a family holiday. His wife, Heiba Khanum, is concerned for his health due to his heart condition and lack of medical care in prison. She is seeking legal help for his release and awaiting a bail hearing in April.

The wife of a British man detained over extremism allegations at an Indian airport following a family vacation has expressed deep concerns for his health. Heiba Khanum, 44, initially received reassurances from authorities that she would soon be reunited with her husband, Aziz Ahmed, a 48-year-old British national with a heart condition. However, he has now been incarcerated for more than seven months.

Aziz Ahmed, who was born in India but resides with his family in Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany, was arrested on August 30 at Bengaluru airport after a six-week holiday with his wife and their teenage children. He is being investigated by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) on accusations of recruiting young people to attend sermons allegedly inspired by Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned Islamist group both in the UK and in India, which officially labeled it a terrorist organization in October. Ahmed denies these allegations, which his wife describes as “nonsense.”

“He’s not the type at all,” Khanum said. “He may have an engineering background, but he’s always been a teacher at heart and a lifelong learner. He has this endless thirst for knowledge. Even in prison, he continues learning about the plants there, discovering their scientific names. That’s just who he is. When we were on our way to the airport, he was explaining relative velocity to our children.”

Khanum shared that their 16-year-old son inquired daily about his father's return. “He keeps asking, ‘When is Dad coming home?’ How do I tell him that I’m doing everything I can?” she said.

Ahmed’s health has become a growing concern. He had undergone heart surgery in 2023, which left him with reduced lung capacity. Their family trip to Bengaluru was meant to offer a reprieve from waiting for treatment back home. Unfortunately, since his imprisonment, Ahmed’s heart condition has worsened. Khanum explained that his palpitations had returned, a recurrence of the problem he had surgery for. “It’s terrifying,” she said. “I’ve had to check his breathing by putting my hand in front of his nose. There have been nights I’ve stayed awake, worrying about his condition.”

Khanum has struggled with the uncertainty surrounding her husband’s detention, especially fearing that his case could become a tragic repeat of that of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh activist who has been imprisoned in India for seven years despite being acquitted of all charges. “I just want this nightmare to end,” she said, revealing that their son had been deeply distressed, sometimes fearing his father would not survive his health struggles. “We never imagined that he would be taken away from us in this way.”

In May, the NIA arrested six other alleged members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, with Ahmed accused of conspiring with them to secretly hold sermons aimed at establishing an Islamic caliphate in India. Khanum added that authorities had rejected their requests for Ahmed to receive private medical care and had deprived him of his prescribed inhaler for nearly a month.

When Ahmed was arrested, he had decided to leave the family vacation early to make a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, which his wife described as a “healing” experience for him. Indian media reports suggest that charges against him were filed last month, but Khanum stated that she had not received any official documentation. Their legal team is planning to petition for his release during a bail hearing scheduled for April 16. She also mentioned that Ahmed had been pressured to sign documents he had not read and that, during a brief hospitalization, he was left in the same room as two tuberculosis patients.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirmed that it is providing support to the British national detained in India and is in contact with local authorities. The Indian High Commission has been contacted for a statement.