A criminal case over piracy in connection with an attack on the Marmalaita vessel and abduction of Russian nationals in the Gulf of Guinea has been opened in Russia, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2019) A criminal case over piracy in connection with an attack on the Marmalaita vessel and abduction of Russian nationals in the Gulf of Guinea has been opened in Russia, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said Thursday.
According to investigators, on August 15, unidentified assailants attacked the vessel off the coast of Cameroon. A crew of eight people, including three Russian citizens, was on board. The attackers forced the crew to leave the ship and took the abductees in an unknown direction. After the kidnappers' illegal demands were fulfilled, the ship's crew was released September 22.
"The actions of these persons are qualified by the investigation in accordance with Part 1 of Article 227 and... Part 2 of Article 126 of Russia's Criminal Code (piracy; kidnapping). The Investigative Committee is taking measures envisioned by international norms and Russian legislation to establish the circumstances of these crimes and bring the perpetrators to account," Petrenko said.
