Caught Red Handed; British Assassins in the Horn of Africa

[Jan Klimkowski]

Magda - excellent find.

Here's some more.

The spin ("concern") from Australian ABC - back in February, but confirming some details:

Concerns mount for WA skipper arrested in Eritrea

Updated Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:55am AEDT

A West Australian pearling company says it is becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of one of its skippers arrested in Eritrea two months ago.

47-year-old Adrian Troy, of Broome-based Arrow Pearls, was arrested in late December after re-fuelling a vessel at Port Massawa.

He was contracting to a British-based security firm at the time of his arrest by the Eritrean navy.

It is understood repeated attempts by British and Australian authorities for consular access to Mr Troy have been unsuccessful.

The company's owner Steve Arrow says family and friends are becoming distraught.

"We have just not been able to get any third party, independent assessement of his health and safety," he said.

"As much as there's a bit of a brave front, some members are really starting to become very, very upset."

Mr Arrow says they are trying to let the world know about his plight.

"The view is now that we just try and keep a fairly high personal profile for Adrian and hope that some sort of negotiations with the Eritrean Government will allow them to see that he's just a normal Australian worker and he was doing a job," he said.

The Federal Government says it is deeply concerned by the failure of Eritrea to respond to requests for access to Mr Troy.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says a consular officer has been despatched to Eritrea to follow up on the requests.

This article names the private "Security" company as Protection Vessels International (PVI):

Is There a Link Between the Detained Britons with acts of Espionage and Assassination Attempts?

May 3rd, 2011

TesfaNews,

The issue of the four ex-Royal Marine British nationals, who were arrested on late last December in Eritrea, has taken a new turn after the country's president disclosed some shocking details of the incident.

According to his recent interview with the state-run TV, he disclosed that they were caught with "countless amounts of arms, including sniper rifles" which are commonly used for assassination purposes.

According to the Sun Newspaper, which has blown the story "out of proportion" in the first place, there were six of them (four ex-Marine guards and two civilian crew members) who works for a private security firm called Protection Vessels International (PVI) that provides a guarding service for merchant vessels while they sail through the pirate infested Gulf of Aden. While they were sailing through the Eritrean Red Sea, they opted for a fuel stop to Massawa port.

Type of PVI guard Vessel

According to this same source, they were later approached by the Eritrean navy and asked for their papers before an exchange of shots were occurred. During these battle, two of the ex-marines has escaped by make use of one of their guarding speed vessel while the remaining four Britons (two ex-Marine and two civilian crew members) has been detained.

No casualties has been reported on either side but the government on its 8th April Press Release accuses the Britons of "committing offences and mistakes against the country."

Various concerned groups around the world, who happen to follow the story from the start, wanted, however, some kind of clarification on the issue before they throw their whole weight to the rescue of the convicts:

Why the vessel that was guarded against the supposed "pirates" was found with 'countless amounts of arms'?

Where was the destination?

Is it related with acts of destabilizing the country?

Knowing where the president's new office and residence is located, that is the port city of Massawa, is there any relationship between the "sniper rifles" and an assassination attempt?

As any vessel while entering the territory of the host country, why the guards fail to cooperate with the host's navy when asked about documentations?

Why the shoot out and who started it?

Why the escape? They were supposed to guard the vessel in the first place not to abandon it and escape!

How many of the Eritrean navy has died or injured during the shoot out and who is responsible?

Why the British government is trying to cover up the whole issue with a threat of robust action' and negative media campaign against Eritrea?

The truth must come out by all means. The people and government of Eritrea has all the right to safe guard their security and territory. They also have the right to investigate the matter to the core regardless of the time it consumes.

The UK government shouldn't have to worry about the safety of the four nationals unless it has something to do with the whole issue and fear for any kind implication.

They are in good hands and innocent until proven guilty!