Lawyers seek to halt deportation of seized tanker's captain to US

Lawyers are asking a Scottish court to halt the deportation of the captain of the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera after it was seized by the US in the North Atlantic.

The captain's wife has raised an action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, seeking an immediate halt to the removal of the captain and the ship from the UK to America.

Lawyers are arguing that the detention of Avtandil Kalandadze is unlawful under the European Convention of Human Rights and say the US government should seek his removal from Scotland through the normal extradition process.

The Venezuelan tanker was boarded by US agents south of Iceland on 7 January and has since been moored in the Moray Firth.

BBC Scotland News understands the Marinera will be taken to the United States.

The US has accused the Marinera of breaking its sanctions by carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.

The UK government backed the operation to seize the tanker, saying it was lawful action against a vessel involved in breaking sanctions.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) provided operational support and US planes used UK airfields, including some in Scotland.

But Moscow denounced the seizure, demanding that the US treat Russians aboard properly and allow them to return to Russia quickly.

The Russian transport ministry said it had given the vessel "temporary permission" to use the Russian flag, adding that no state had the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other states' jurisdictions.

Lawyer Aamer Anwar said Kalandadze's wife was concerned for her husband's safety and security on the ship, which was formerly known as Bella 1.

"The captain is being prevented from accessing Scottish courts and is therefore unable to defend his rights himself under Article 5 and 6 of ECHR," he said.

"We understand that following our lodging of a petition for judicial review that the captain and his deputy may have been removed from the ship along with 26 other crew members of various nationalities."

Anwar said papers were being served on the lord advocate, the advocate general - who acts for the UK government - Scottish ministers and US President Donald Trump, who is commander in chief of the United States Military.

He added: "President Trump recently stated 'I don't need international law' - but we submit that the USA must abide by international treaties and laws."

The Glasgow-based human rights lawyer said that the US had previously respected these laws and had worked closely with Scottish authorities following the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

Anwar said: "The captain's wife believes that it cannot be right that in a civilised society to abduct a whole crew in Scotland and with assistance from the UK authorities, remove them without observing our laws.

"Today we seek an emergency order seeking that the authorities act to stop the removal of the ship, captain and crew, before a full hearing takes place over the coming days."

First Minister John Swinney previously said he was "deeply concerned" to learn from media reports that the tanker was in the Moray Firth.

He said he would have expected to have been told in advance about steps to accommodate the ship in the firth.

However, last week Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said he wrote to the SNP leader to offer him a meeting, but he did not accept.

Swinney claimed the "the flow of communication" between the Scottish and UK governments during the Marinera incident had been "absolutely appalling".

He said it was "incredibly difficult" to engage the UK government on "significant" security issues.

The SNP leader said he had asked the prime minister for a "detailed briefing" about the Marinera, and added that law officers in Scotland had a clear responsibility for tankers in Scottish waters.

He told reporters: "I got a reply from Douglas Alexander which basically told me that this whole issue was none of my business.

"So if that's what Mr Alexander is suggesting, is an invitation to dialogue, I suggest he goes and redrafts his letters before he sends them to me."

The UK government previously said that the tanker had entered UK waters to take on fresh supplies.

It is understood US military aircraft landed at small civilian airports in Wick, Caithness, and Benbecula in the Western Isles during the operation on 7 January.

At the time the MoD confirmed that the Royal Navy tanker RFA Tideforce and RAF surveillance aircraft were supporting American personnel and that "deterring, disrupting and degrading" Russia's "shadow fleet" was a priority.

The Marinera has been in the firth off Burghead, a village on the Moray coast.

The Moray Firth is a sheltered area of sea between the east Highland coast and the coasts of Moray and Aberdeenshire.