Russia sentences captain of sunken Chinese ship New Star
A court in Russia's Far Eastern port city of Nakhodka found the Indonesian captain of a Chinese freighter that sank in February guilty of border violation on Monday, an aide to the local prosecutor said according to RIA Novosti.
The New Star, owned by a Hong Kong-based company, sank during a storm on February 13 in the Sea of Japan 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Nakhodka, due to damage sustained from gunshots fired by Russian border guards after it illegally crossed the Russian maritime border.
"The court sentenced the captain of the New Star, Indonesian citizen Nazvir Adi, to three months in prison," Irina Nomokonova said.
The border guards fired warning shots at the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel on the night of February 13, but when the vessel refused to stop, direct shots were fired. Video footage shown on local websites shows that Russian border guards fired a total of 515 shots at the vessel's bow. When this had no effect, they requested permission to open fire on the stern.
The ship issued a distress signal when it started to take on water, and 16 crew members, all Indonesian and Chinese nationals, got into two lifeboats. Half of them were picked up by a Russian vessel, but an attempt to save the other eight sailors failed when they were washed out to sea.
The Chinese ship owners have accused Russia of breaching international maritime laws. The owners said in a letter that Russia's actions were not only "a terrible violation of international law, but also a cruel violation of human rights."