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Ship crew deported after serving term for killing sailor

FUJAIRAH — Five crew members of a ship who were convicted by a Fujairah court in the killing of an Indian sailor were yesterday deported after serving out their one-year jail terms.

The captain of the Norwegian oil tanker 'Champion Pioneer', Jitendra Malhotra, also convicted in the murder, continues to serve his two-year jail term in the case.

Indian sailor Sudheer Nonia Jagannathan was killed on board the ship off the Fujairah coast on February 6 last year. The 31-year-old deceased hailed from Mumbai. He was employed on the vessel as a fitter. He was allegedly killed following a dispute with the ship's captain.

The vessel was coming from New Mangalore port in Karnataka in southern India to dock at the Fujairah port en route to Kuwait.

The deportation of the crew members comes following the final judgment of the Fujairah Court of Appeal, after the case was referred back by the Administrative Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi.

Earlier, the Fujairah court had taken up the case as the emirate was the nearest port of call. The Fujairah Criminal Court had last year convicted the ship's captain and the five sailors for murdering Jagannathan. However, the Fujairah Court of Appeal had ruled in July 2006 that the Criminal Court in the emirate had no jurisdiction to conduct trial of the accused as they were involved in a crime in international waters. This set the stage for the release of the six accused.

The case was then referred to the Administrative Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi which ruled that the five crew members should serve one-year jail term each, followed by deportation, and the ship's captain serve a two-year jail term.

• UAE