7 PH seamen in oil smuggling rap in Libya acquitted
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2019 23:01:19 +0000
THE Libyan High Court has ordered the release of seven Filipino seafarers who were had been sentenced by a lower court to four years in prison for allegedly attempting to smuggle fuel.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday welcomed the acquittal of the crew from the M/T Levante who have been held in Libya since 2017.
Chargé d’Affaires Mardomel Celo Melicor said the Philippine embassy in Tripoli received a copy of the release order of the Libyan high court on Sunday.
The embassy is coordinating the repatriation of the seven seafarers with Libyan authorities.
Melicor said the seven were among 20 Filipinos who were taken into custody after the Libyan Coast Guard boarded and seized the Liberian-flagged tanker while it was anchored in international waters.
The Filipinos were investigated and detained for alleged economic sabotage because they supposedly attempted to smuggle six million liters of fuel.
Melicor said authorities had released 13 crew members in February 2018 but charged the remaining seven, all Filipinos and who were all officers. They were sentenced to a four-year prison term in November.
The DFA and the embassy have been working for the release of the Filipinos who have consistently denied the charges.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. lauded the Libyan authorities for their assistance in securing the acquittal of the Filipinos.
Locsin was among those who appealed for the release of the Filipinos, along with Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd and Presidential Adviser Abdullah Mamao. BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO
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