Nick Dunn, one of six former British soldiers, has appealed to the UK government to arrange for his release. Dunn and the other soldiers were arrested back in 2013 in India and jailed on weapons charges.
The soldiers were on board an anti-piracy ship when they were caught with illegal weapons and detained. According to the coastguard, the ship had entered territorial waters and the soldiers were accused of bringing weapons to jihadists. All six soldiers have denied any wrongdoing.
Dunn, 30, spoke to The Sun at the Puzhal Cental Prison in Madras, saying:
“It is mental torture to be thrown in jail for a crime you didn’t commit. If it wasn’t for our military training we would have fallen apart.
“The Government needs to stand by us now like we stood by Queen and Country when we served.”
Describing the jail, Dunn says “The food is awful. We would starve if it wasn’t for emergency food packages sent from home.” Some of the soldiers have even suffered dysentery due to the poor conditions and lack of basic sanitation. He previously described sleeping on the floor among rats and snakes, with a hole in the ground for a toilet. Each soldier last one and a half stone within the first sixth months of being jailed.
A petition with over 372,000 signatures was given to Parliament, calling for their release. A foreign spokesperson said:
“Our staff in India and the UK remain in regular contact with all six men and are continuing to support them and their families, working to make sure their welfare is protected in prison.
“We recognise what a difficult time this is for those involved. We cannot interfere with India’s independent legal system, just as other countries cannot interfere with ours, but we will continue efforts to make sure this case is resolved swiftly.”
