A lawmaker in the UK has vowed to carry on his campaign to bring home the six former British soldiers sentenced to five years in prison by a court in India today for illegally entering the Indian territory with arms.
Ian Lavery, a Labour MP from Northumberland in northeast England, has been campaigning for his constituent Nick Dunn as well as Billy Irving, Ray Tindall, Paul Towers, John Armstrong, and Nicholas Simpson.
The former soldiers who worked on an anti-piracy ship were arrested on firearms charges in October 2013 when the US-owned ship they were on was found to be full of weapons.
A Tamil Nadu court today upheld the claim by Indian authorities that the vessel was not properly licensed and sentenced them and 29 others aboard to five years in jail.
"This verdict will have come as a hammer blow to Nick Dunn and the other men detained in India coming only a matter of months after a court had quashed all of the charges," Lavery told The Yorkshire Post.
"The men and their families will be distraught at this news with all noises coming out of the courts in the last few days and weeks pointing towards them returning home in the near future after years of hell."
He described the Indian court verdict as a "bizarre judgment."
"I will continue to work with Nick's family to fight for his release and return to the UK and (I) am seeking urgent discussions on the way forward and seeking an early resolution to this miscarriage of justice."
All men aboard the ship - which include the six Britons, 12 Indians, three Ukranians and 14 Estonians - received five-year sentences and were ordered to pay Rs 3,000 by Tutucorin district sessionscourt.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the men had 90 days to appeal against the decision.
"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," a spokesperson said.
"Ministers have also raised this case at the highest levels, pressing for delays to be resolved... 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."
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio, which flew the Sierra Leone flag, was found about 15 nautical miles from Tuticorin port in October 2013.
It is owned by Advanfort, a US company that specialises in maritime security and offered armed protection services to vessels sailing through an area known as "pirates' alley" between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
Indian customs officials and police found 35 guns, including semi-automatic weapons, and almost 6,000 rounds of ammunition on board the ship which did not have permission to be in the Indian waters.
