An Indian court in Tuticorin on January 11 awarded five-year jail terms to 10 crew members and 25 security guards – 6 of them Britons – of a ship that illegally sailed into Indian waters three years ago loaded with arms and ammunition.
The ship, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, was seized by India. It belonged to a US company, AdvanFort, which specialises in providing maritime security against pirates.
The Coast Guard said the crew included eight Indians and two Ukrainians, while the guards included 6 Britons, 14 Estonians, one Ukrainian and four Indians were among the security guards on the ship.
They were arrested when the ship, flying the flag of Sierra Leone, was found moving around 15 nautical miles from the Tuticorin port in October 2013 with arms and ammunition, but reportedly without valid authorisation, an IANS report said.
They were arrested on firearms charges. The charges were dropped, but the Indian authorities appealed against the decision and have now won their case.
British MPs and campaigners have described the judgement as a “miscarriage of justice”, while their families have expressed shock over the imprisonment.
Prime Minister David Cameron had taken up the matter with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi before Modi’s visit in November, while MPs too raised it in Parliament. A petition on the issue was signed by over 300,000 people.
The six Britons are Billy Irving from Connel, Argyllshire, Nick Dunn from Northumberland, Ray Tindall of Chester, John Armstrong from Cumbria and Paul Towers and Nicholas Simpson, both from North Yorkshire. They have been jailed for arms and smuggling offences.
The Foreign Office, according to a report in Hindustan Times, said: “Our staff in India and the UK have been in close contact with all six men since their arrest to provide support to them and their families, including attending court. We recognise what a difficult time this is for those involved. There is now a 90-day window to appeal and we will continue to provide consular assistance. However, we cannot interfere in another country’s judicial process.”
In the HT report, CEO of Human Rights at Sea, said: “Noting the case narrative to date and the competing and vested interests within India to be seen to take action…this appears to be a travesty of justice for the ordinary crew members who we understand were not aware of instructions being passed down from the employer, and who were otherwise simply doing their job.”
Ken Peters of the Mission to Seafarers said: “These men are seafarers but it seems the court did not accept the basic fact that the ship was and is an anti-piracy vessel. The men carried arms in accordance with international maritime law for the purpose of ensuring the merchant fleet was protected properly from the very real risk of pirate attacks and hijack.”
Yvonne MacHugh, Billy Irving’s fiancée, who launched the petition on the issue, said: “I want to know what David Cameron is going to do – will he get these boys home or let these six ex-British soldiers, who gave so much to our country, spend five years in an Indian prison for something they didn’t do?”
The arrested Britons have consistently denied any wrongdoing and claim they have been abandoned by their American employers. They also say they have not been paid since November 2013.
Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck, was quoted on BBC website, as saying that he would continue to campaign for the return home of constituent Dunn and the other men.
