‘Chennai Six’ trial over but wait goes on
NICK DUNN’S SISTER SAYS CASE IS ‘HOPEFULLY POSITIVE’
THE trial of the so-called Chennai Six has now ended but the British men face another week before receiving a judgement, according to the family of one of the accused.
Loved ones of the ex-soldiers currently in prison in Chennai, India, have been campaigning for their release since they were arrested in October 2013.
The six, who a British lawyer says are victims of a miscarriage of justice, were first jailed on weapons charges while working as security guards on ships to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean.
Their latest appeal finished yesterday in a hearing which saw the captain of the vessel Dudnyk Valentyn, of Ukraine, repatriated.
The six are now set to receive a judgement on Monday, November 27.
Lisa Dunn, sister of 31-year-old Nick Dunn, from Ashington, Northumberland, said: “Fingers crossed this is it. If it goes in our favour we hope that the Indian government will right the wrongs that they got in the first place. We don’t want a repeat of what we got in 2014.
“The Indian government has already agreed that the captain should be repatriated. That’s good news for him and his family and it just shows that the government are considerate and compassionate about the case. This is hopefully positive for the rest of the case.”
The five other men are Billy Irving, 37, of Oban, Scotland, John Armstrong, 30, of Wigton, Cumbria, Nicholas Simpson, 47, of Catterick, North Yorkshire; Ray Tindall, 42, of Chester; Paul Towers, 54, originally from Bootle, but living in Pocklington, East Yorkshire.
Earlier this year Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK would ‘leave no stone unturned’ in securing their release.
There have been a series of appeals as the families navigate the Indian legal system.