Thirty-five men being held in India were on Monday acquitted of illegal possession of arms while they were on a US-operated anti-piracy boat in 2013. The six Britons, three Ukrainians, 14 Estonians and 12 Indians were given five-year jail terms by a lower court in southern India's Tamil Nadu state in January last year.
The Indian coast guard intercepted the privately run MV Seaman Guard Ohio off the coast of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu in October 2013. Semi-automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found. The crew were charged with not having proper paperwork to carry weapons in Indian waters, but India has faced intense diplomatic pressure over the case ever since.
R. Subramaniya Adityan, a lawyer for 19 of the crew, said after Monday's hearing at the Madras High Court that the men "will be released after the court order reaches the prison officials on Tuesday". Another lawyer, R. Arumuga Ram, told AFP that efforts were being made to get the men released as early as Monday night. "Otherwise, (we) will ensure to release all of them by 6:00 am tomorrow," he added.
But Indian authorities are still able to appeal, which could prevent the foreigners from leaving India. Twenty-three of the men are detained in Chennai's Puzhal prison, while the remaining 12 are at Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tirunelveli. Yvonne McHugh, partner of one of the British men Billy Irving, told Britain's Press Association news agency that she was "over the moon". "We are just waiting to hear how soon they'll be home," she said. "I won't be able to speak to him until he's out of prison, we just want them home as soon as possible. I'm absolutely ecstatic and feel proud we've managed to do this after four years."
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.