Petitioning to Help Free the 6 British Ex-Soldiers from Indian Prison

[Evren]

“I’ve been hallucinating while sleeping….I’m not surprised anymore when guards are beating people with bamboo sticks or if someone is taken to hospital with a slit throat.”[1]

These are the words of a living a nightmare, a nightmare that my partner Billy is also in. He is one of six British ex-soldiers who have been arrested and jailed by the Indian authorities while working to protect merchant ships vulnerable to pirate attacks.

He has now been in jail for 86 days, with no help from the British Government. Billy and the other five men were working for a maritime security firm. The Indian Government says it believes their ship was in possession of illegal firearms. Billy’s employer, US company Advanfort, told them they had all the correct paperwork for the equipment they had onboard.

I’ve started a petition calling on the UK Government to step in and help the boys.

The families have had to spend Christmas and New Year not knowing what is happening. Advanfort have offered little support for the boys and have now stopped paying the boys wages -- some of whom have children and wives to support. Our Government is their only hope. We are pleading with the Foreign Office to intervene and help bring them back home.

These boys are ex-soldiers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Billy devoted his life to this country and now he needs his this country’s help. Please sign my petition calling on the UK Government to step up and help us to bring these boys home to their families.

Thank you for your support.

Yvonne MacHugh

Petition | William Hague: Help Free the 6 British Ex-Soldiers from Indian Prison | Change.org
Indian prison hell of Scots pirate hunter - Scotland / News & Views / The Sunday Post


Please sign the petition.

 

[madooxno9]

I hope Indian Gov. together with Brits solve this case. Indian jail is no place for any decent man. Its worst than hell.

If they are by any chance involved in crime , they must be sent to UK to serve their rest of the sentence.

By the way there is a law , which allows them to serve half of their sentence in India and rest of it in UK. But if brits can handle this case with care , they can be sent home.

 

[Arya Desa]

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

 

[Thirdfront]

Wow... sympathies for those men but did they forget that this police force was raised by their forefathers to subjugate Indians???

 

[Shatterpoint]

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

Sorry what crime have they done?

 

[kaykay]

Sorry what crime have they done?

Illigal transportation of weapons in Indian waterts.
India arrests US ship for 'illegal transportation of weapons' — RT News

 

[RPK]

Its worst than hell.

Puzhal jail

Google Maps

See in earth

 

[sree45]

Sorry what crime have they done?

We have a problem of illegal arms entering India via sea. A group of ex-soldiers carrying unauthorized weapons close a country's maritime border doesn't sound good to me.

If they really had all the necessary documents, am sure the court would have dismissed the case on day 1 itself. But they being denied even a bail clearly means that their defence is dodgy.

 

[Shatterpoint]

We have a problem of illegal arms entering India via sea. A group of ex-soldiers carrying unauthorized weapons close a country's maritime border doesn't sound good to me.

If they really had all the necessary documents, am sure the court would have dismissed the case on day 1 itself. But they being denied even a bail clearly means that their defence is dodgy.

Fair enough

 

[Evren]

I am literally flabbergasted at the responses by some people here from Indian Land when their own "diplomat" could not do the "time" for the crime so to speak.

 

[Shatterpoint]

I am literally flabbergasted at the responses by some people here from Indian Land when their own "diplomat" could not do the "time" for the crime so to speak.

Typical Indians

 

[chhota bheem]

Typical Indians

If they were underpaying their maid,we would not have even registered a case, but again illegal arms its a different level altogether.

 

[Soumitra]

After 26/11 Indian govt is understandably vary of any illegal armed personnel near our shores

 

[Roybot]

How can you guys be so sure of their innocence?

Picture this, a ship load of Indians or Pakistanis or Arabs or Africans armed with assault rifles and heavy machine guns creeping about in American or British waters, without any proper documentation, how would they be treated? Probably shot dead, torpedoed straight away.

As corny as it sounds, but just cause you are white, doesn't mean you are right! Let them face the local laws, and once they are out of the prison, you can make a "Banged up abroad" episode on them.

And if you don't have faith in the Indian judicial process, then there is little this petition will get you. Having said that, if they are innocent, I hope they are released soon.

 

[Desertfalcon]

If they were underpaying their maid,we would not have even registered a case, but again illegal arms its a different level altogether.

Uh, no. That was not why charges were filed against her by a grand jury.