The European Parliament on Thursday demanded that Pakistan immediately release four Greek and three Filipino sailors whose tanker, 'Tasman Spirit' caused a huge oil spill when it sank last year off the port of Karachi.
"The continued detention of these individuals is unacceptable," it said in a statement that also noted that one of the Greeks had in January tried to commit suicide.
"Parliament notes that the causes of the accident are still to be determined but that the ship was under the orders of a local pilot at the time," it said.
The tanker ran aground last July and snapped in two in August, leaking 28,000 tonnes of crude oil into the water near the Arabian Sea port in a rich tropical marine ecosystem.
A Pakistani court freed the crew on bail but barred them from leaving the country until a verdict was reached on the case.
The crew face criminal charges for negligence in navigation and endangering lives. A Greek engineer who arrived after the accident to lead the salvage effort has also been detained.
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