Nick’s sister ‘determined’ to get their family back together again
FAMILY STEPS UP FIGHT AS JAILED EX-SOLDIER ‘LANGUISHES’
THE sister of jailed Ashington man Nick Dunn is stepping up the fight for his release after he has spent four years “languishing” in an Indian jail.
Mr Dunn and five other ex-British soldiers were found guilty of firearms offences, while working to protect ships in India.
The group of men, known as the Chennai Six, were handed a five-year prison sentence by an Indian judge in January last year.
The judgement followed a 28-month legal wrangle, with Mr Dunn and his co-defendants maintaining their innocence throughout.
This week marks four years since the men were arrested and the families are now demanding the government takes action to secure their release.
Mr Dunn’s sister Lisa, who is also from Ashington, and Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery met with the shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry on Wednesday.
The following day the families of the men will head to London to lobby MPs before handing over a petition to 10 Downing Street.
Ms Dunn, who has tirelessly campaigned for the Chennai Six’s release, thanked the public and Mr Lavery for their support.
“Ian has been a great support, standing up for Nick and the family in the darkest times,” she said.
“It’s so important we keep up the pressure. I would like to thank Ian’s office for the work they have done to help all our families and everyone in the community who has sent messages of support during an incredibly difficult time. We are determined to get our family back together.” Alongside Mr Dunn, the other men involved are Billy Irving, from Connel, Argyll and Bute, Ray Tindall from Chester, Paul Towers, from Yorkshire, John Armstrong, from Wigton, Cumbria, and Nicholas Simpson, from Catterick, North Yorkshire. The men were working for US maritime company AdvanFort providing anti-piracy protection when their ship, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, was detained and weapons found. They were arrested in October 2013 on illegal weapons charges, which were dropped, but an appeal followed from the Indian authorities and the men were later convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. The families of the men have branded the case a miscarriage of justice. The families were dealt another blow this month when the judge hearing the appeal of the six men stepped down from the case because he said it was “too complicated” for him to rule on.