HELSINKI: Prosecutors in Finland called for two-and-a-half year prison sentences for the captain and two senior officers of a ship suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables in 2024, as their trial ended Friday.
The three crew members of the Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S are accused of dragging the ship’s anchor on the seabed for around 90 kilometers (56 miles), damaging five undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland on December 25, 2024.
The Eagle S is believed to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet.
The three men have been charged with “aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications.”
During the trial, prosecutors argued the trio neglected their duties intentionally, after leaving the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Christmas Day.
“We ask for a minimum of two years and six months of unconditional imprisonment,” prosecutor Heidi Nummela told the Helsinki district court.
The suspects should have noticed and inspected the anchors when the tanker’s speed dropped, which “clearly indicated that the ship was dragging something,” prosecutor Krista Mannerhovi told AFP during a break in Friday’s proceedings.
The ship’s captain, Davit Vadatchkoria of Georgia, and senior officers Robert Egizaryan of Georgia and Santosh Kumar Chaurasia of India, have denied the charges.
They insisted the incident was an accident, and claimed the ship had slowed down due to an engine problem and rough weather conditions.
Vadatchkoria testified last week that there was no indication the anchor had fallen from the ship.
“There was no reason to doubt that it was not in order,” he told the court.
The EstLink 2 power cable and four telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia were damaged in the incident.
The cuts threatened Finland’s energy supply and critical infrastructure, according to prosecutors.
Several undersea cables in the Baltic were damaged last year, with many experts calling it part of a “hybrid war” carried out by Russia against Western countries.
Moscow is accused of using its clandestine “shadow fleet” to dodge sanctions imposed by Western allies over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The court on Friday revoked the suspects’ travel bans in place since December 2024, rejecting the prosecution’s request for an extension.
The verdict is expected October 3.
Finnish prosecutors seek prison for crew accused of Baltic cable cuts
https://arab.news/wny4f
Finnish prosecutors seek prison for crew accused of Baltic cable cuts
- The Eagle S is believed to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet
- The three men have been charged with “aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications“
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
