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maritime piracy

6 months of detention for the 35 members of the Mv Seaman Guard Ohio in India

(BRUSSELS2) The 10 sailors and 25 private guards of the MV Seaman Guard Ohio are still being held in India. Arrested on October 12 while convoying an anti-piracy protection vessel, on behalf of AdvanFort (a private American military company), they are still accused of illegal possession of weapons and Indian justice does not seem inclined to tenderness. Read : European private guards arrested in India. A case that is reminiscent of that of the Italian marines of the Enrica lexie

No bail?

The Tamil Nadu prosecutor, Shanmuga Velayutham, indeed recommended on Friday (March 14) to reject the request of the captain (Dudinik Valentyn) and the 34 other people who asked for their release on bail. " If the court grants them bail, (the investigators) will face difficulties in securing their presence (at the trial) “he declared as well as the recounts The Times of India. " We have had this experience before in the case of the murder of two Indian fishermen by the crew of the Italian ship on the coast of Kerala in 2012 " he added. The judge is due to rule on March 20.

A petition from British families

Among them Indians, Ukrainians and Estonians and six private guards, former British armed forces. The families have just appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene. A petition signed by 136.000 people - launched by the relatives of one of the prisoners - was thus delivered to Downing Street - specifies the with the BBC - asking for the intervention of the British government.

The morale of the prisoners "at the lowest"...

Billy Irving, of Connel, Argyll; Nick Dunn, of Ashington, Northumberland; Ray Tindall of Chester; Paul Towers of Pocklington, Yorkshire; John Armstrong of Wigton, Cumbria, and Nicholas Simpson, of Catterick, North Yorkshire have been jailed since October 24. Testifying to our colleagues, Yvonne MacHugh, companion of one of the guards explained the situation. " He lost a lot of pounds. They seem exhausted and lose hope of being released. Their morale is getting lower and lower. They don't know what will happen to their case.".

And low profile at the Foreign office

At the Foreign Office, we keep a low profile. " A difficult case, which the Prime Minister has discussed with Indian ministers as well as with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We keep doing all we can do a spokesperson told the BBC. " While we cannot demand the release of British nationals, or interfere in the judicial processes of another country, we continue to make very clear our interest in this case, and the importance of it being resolved as soon as possible. quickly as possible. »

Comments : this case - like the Italian Enrica Lexie case - illustrates the difficulty of the fight against piracy at the international level. It does not bode very well for London, which has bet heavily on the expansion of private guards and thus finds itself with a major legal headache which should also concern all the European capitals which have set up (or want to put) legislation on the use of private guards at sea. If the establishment or approval of private guards can be done at national level, there remains, in fact, a legal vacuum as to their presence and their use in international waters, as well as in the territorial waters of other countries. Until further notice, the law of one country cannot prevail over that of another. In this case, without giving reason to India, it must be recognized that it is not entirely wrong to be so touchy about its territorial and maritime sovereignty. Now, it would be right for men not to suffer too long from the lack of foresight and the lack of concerted action of their governments.

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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