Foreign Office minister visits jailed pirate-hunter in India
FORMER Kintyre paratrooper Billy Irving received a moraleboosting visit in the Indian jail where he was sent for five years’ hard labour in January. Last Monday, Hugo Swire, minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visited Billy, who is one of the imprisoned ‘Chennai Six’ lifting hopes that the government is making positive steps to put pressure on the Indians.
The men have been held for nearly three years since the Indian government claimed the pirate-hunting boat, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, had strayed into its territorial waters.
Speaking on Change. org, Billy’s partner Yvonne MacHugh said: ‘I am more than certain this has been a huge boost to the morale of our men who are languishing in horrific conditions in a Indian prison cell.
‘Would a government official fly to another country to visit men who are guilty of a crime? Of course not and this is the first time a government minister has visited a British citizen in a foreign prison.
‘We have campaigned tirelessly since they were first arrested along with everyone else on board the MV Seaman Guard Ohio. All 35 men were arrested from the chef to the captain.
‘They have been released, had their charges quashed, had them reinstated and been sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment, despite overwhelming evidence proving their innocence.’