The 35 crew of the Seaman Guard Ohio, including six former British soldiers – the Chennai Six – were acquitted by an Indian court of Monday on weapons smuggling charges for which they were jailed for five years in January 2016.
“At last there is some form of justice, even if it cannot restore to the men the time lost since their arrest in 2013,” said David Heindel, ITF seafarers section chair.
The 35 seafarers and armed guards onboard the maritime security vessel were detained off the Indian coast in 2013 and were jailed for five years in 2016, despite charges have been dropped in 2014 by the Madras High Court.
The ITF has been among the organisations that has supported the men since 2013 and helped to fund the appeal.
Heindel, however, took aim at the US-headquartered owners of the Seaman Guard Ohio maritime security company AdvanFort. AdvanFort while initially supportive of the detained crew members later walked away leaving them stranded and unpaid in India.
“Unfortunately, one glaring injustice remains: the scandal of AdvanFort getting off scot free, having washed its hands of its employees. It is nothing short of shameful that our justice system allows them to get away with this,” Heindel stated.
“But as we have witnessed over and over, this is the flag of convenience system that has been created.”
The Seaman Guard Ohio was flagged with Sierra Leone.
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