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Mogherini: EU discussed case of Estonian ship guards during meetings with India

BC, Tallinn, 31.01.2016.Print version
European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini affirmed in a letter sent to Estonian MEP Urmas Paet that when meeting with Indian representatives, the EU has on several occasions also discussed the issue of Estonian ship guards imprisoned in India, informs LETA/BNS.

"The European Union is consistently following the case of Estonian and British ship guards. The decision of the Tamil Nadu court to sentence Estonian and British ship guards to prison for five years came as a huge surprise," Mogherini said, adding that the EU has discussed the case on several occasions during meetings with Indian representatives.

 

Mogherini confirmed that the EU will keep following the situation of the maritime guards, and supports the efforts of the governments of Estonia and the U.K. to find a solution to the situation.

 

At the middle of January Paet sent letters to India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, India's ambassador to the EU Manjeev Singh Puri, India's ambassador to Finland and Estonia Ashok Kumar Sharma, and Mogherini. In the letter, Paet asked for their strong support to helping the ship guards get back home considering the verdict passed on them by an Indian court earlier this month.

 

The Tuticorin magistrate court ruled on Jan. 11 that the crew arrested from the vessel Seaman Guard Ohio in 2013, which includes foreign nationals from Ukraine, Estonia and the U.K., must spend five years in jail for illegal possession of arms in Indian waters.

 

The Estonian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the ship guards have decided to appeal the verdict.






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