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More questions have arisen about the decision to deploy special forces against a group of seven asylum seekers accused of hijacking an oil tanker after one of them told the Guardian that they only approached the ship’s crew because they believed they had been Left to drown
Politicians and human rights activists have called for an investigation into the incident, which occurred off the coast of the Isle of Wight on October 25, aboard the Nave Andromeda, a Liberian-registered ship owned by the Greek shipping company Navios.
The alleged kidnapping made international headlines and 16 members of the Navy’s elite force, the Special Boat Service, based just a few miles away in Poole, Dorset, were hailed as heroes for bringing the incident to a quick conclusion after who quickly tied themselves to the ship’s deck from helicopters while snipers in another helicopter patrolled above.
The decision to carry out the raid was authorized by Home Secretary Priti Patel and Defense Minister Ben Wallace, who said at the time: “People are safe tonight because of your efforts.”
One of the stowaways, John *, who has now applied for asylum, said that on the day of the SBS raid, he and the other six stowaways were locked up in a cabin, as they had been for the previous 12 days since they were discovered while they tied. outside the boat.
“Everything was very quiet on the boat. We thought that maybe the crew had left because the ship was sinking and they were letting us drown. We screamed but no one came. We waited many hours and then we broke the cabin door and went up on deck, ”said the 27-year-old.
The seven had tied themselves to the outside of the ship with strong ropes in the early hours of October 5 when the ship docked in Lagos, Nigeria.
John said that before that date he had been living on the streets, had been exploited by a gang and that his life had been threatened. A friend introduced him to a man who told him that he could get him out of Lagos by putting him on a ship bound for Europe and that when he reached his destination, the man’s friend would meet the ship, find him a job, and then send him his salary. . return to the man from Lagos to return the ticket.
John agreed to do this.
“My childhood had been good,” he said. “Both of my parents were farmers and I went to school and always had enough to eat. But they were both killed by Boko Haram when I was still a child and I ended up on the streets of Lagos. I accepted the man’s offer to put me on a boat because I felt I had nothing to lose.
“The man gave us 25 liters of water and gari [powdered cassava] to last us a few days. “
John said all the stowaways agreed to share food and water equally with each other, taking turns sleeping and watching those who were sleeping to make sure they didn’t fall into the water.
They were not discovered until the ship docked in Spain where they were brought on board by the captain.
“We were so happy to get on the boat. We were very tired, hungry and thirsty and we needed a good night’s sleep, ”John said.
The seven were locked in a cabin. John said the crew treated them well, regularly bringing food and water and sometimes letting them go out on deck for fresh air.
“We asked the captain a lot of questions, but he didn’t always answer us,” John said. “We did not know where we were going to sail and we were afraid that the ship had changed course and returned to Africa. We didn’t have telephones to identify our position at sea, so we had to look out the window and guess from the weather if we were still in Europe or Africa. “
He said the daily routine of the crew members bringing them breakfast changed on October 25, the day of the SBS raid.
“The captain was on the bridge but it was closed. The captain held up a paper that said, ‘Rest assured, the port authorities are coming to pick you up,’ “John said. “We sat and waited on the deck, but it was getting colder and colder so we went back to the cabin.”
He said the seven stowaways were shocked when SBS arrived.
“They got off the helicopter as if they were going to war. They had guns and they couldn’t let us look them in the face. They told us to have ourselves face down on the deck. There is no one on the planet who would not have been scared by that. “
The emergency message sent by the ship’s captain reported seeing six of the stowaways leaving (on deck): “But they can’t get in. I try to keep them calm. I need help from the agency right away. “
The seven stowaways were turned over to the Hampshire police and were expected to be charged with crimes related to the kidnapping. In fact, two were charged with crimes related to conduct that endangers ships. However, it emerged on 8 January that no charges would be brought against the stowaways who had applied for asylum.
The Crown Prosecution Service said initial reports had indicated “a real and imminent threat” to the ship, but mobile phone images and other evidence “could not show that the ship or crew were threatened.”
The Interior Ministry said it was frustrated and disappointed that the CPS decided not to press charges.
“At first they said we were pirates of the sea, but there was no evidence of that,” John said. “They said we tried to hijack a ship. Such an incident did not happen. I am happy that I had a good crown prosecutor who handled the case correctly. “
John’s application for asylum and as a victim of trafficking is being considered. He said: “If they take me back to Nigeria, my life will be in critical danger. I will lose my life. I am a strong Christian. On my difficult trip to the UK, I kept telling myself that I had to stay positive and go through a lot of stress to survive. For now the only thing that matters is that I am alive. “
Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “The massive overreaction of the ministers was a sham. There must be a serious review of the lack of judgment in this case to restore confidence in the chain of command. “
John spent more than four months locked up in an immigration detention center before being released into the care of the Salvation Army, which provides support to victims of trafficking.
James Wilson, acting director of the charity Detention Action, which supported John while he was in detention, said: “This debacle raises serious questions that the government must now answer. The lack of a credible or verified threat is deeply concerning and the situation appears to have been mishandled. The public and our military deserve an urgent investigation into how and why the Interior Minister made the decision to deploy elite forces against vulnerable asylum seekers to stop a kidnapping that never happened.
Both the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry declined to comment.
* “John” is a pseudonym
