Hearing of the case of Estonian maritime security guards held in India since October 2013 is to start at the Tuticorin court on Aug. 24.
Hearing of Estonian ship guards' case in India to start on Aug 24
12th August 2015, 17:19
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Wednesday's hearing at the Tuticorin court was a procedural hearing, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The case was registered and technical issues were discussed. The next hearing is to take place on Aug. 24 and then the real discussion of the case is to start.
The Supreme Court of India announced at the beginning of July it would not accept the case of Estonian ship guards and sent the case back to the Tamil Nadu court in Madurai.
The police of India's southernmost state Tamil Nadu arrested the crew and armed security personnel including 14 Estonian guards on board the anti-piracy vessel Seaman Guard Ohio on Oct. 18, 2013. They were charged in December and released on bail in April 2014.
The high court of Tamil Nadu cleared all members of the crew and ship guards except for the captain of the charges in July of the same year but the Tamil Nadu police appealed against the ruling in the Supreme Court.