Sister of a former British soldier, jailed for carrying unlicensed firearms, seeks PM Theresa May’s intervention; says mental health of inmates deteriorating as Indian cells are infested with snakes
London: The sister of one of Britain’s six former soldiers jailed in India for carrying unlicensed arms on a ship for anti-piracy security yesterday sought the intervention of new British PM Theresa May, saying the UK government has “abandoned and betrayed” them. Lisa Dunn, the sister of Nick Dunn, expressed concerns that the men’s mental state is beginning to deteriorate. “Nick’s always maintained that he feels abandoned and betrayed by the government and the country that he once served,” she told The Guardian.
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“Now we have a new government in place I would like to personally reach out to Theresa May, Boris Johnson (foreign secretary) and Sir Alan Duncan (a Foreign Office minister) and respectfully request that they continue to keep this case at the top of their agendas as we have been assured many times previously.
They keep saying we’ve talked with this Indian counterpart, but it was apparent a long, long time ago that talking makes no difference to the Indian authorities. We need more robust action,” she said. She has also claimed the men were suffering in the Indian jail and have to sleep on concrete in cells infested with snakes and rats, using a hole in the ground for a toilet.
The men were arrested in 2013 among 35 crew members and sentenced by a Tamil Nadu court to five years in prison in January this year for carrying unlicensed firearms.
3,75,000
Number of signatures a petition calling for the soldiers’ release has garnered
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