A new appeal date has been fixed for jailed pirate hunter Billy Irving.
Mr Irving, 37, is serving a five-year sentence alongside five colleagues in a “horrendous” Indian prison after being accused of illegal weapons charges while working as security guards on a ship to combat the threat of pirates in the Indian Ocean.
The ex paratrooper from Connel, near Oban, and the other men, were visited in their Chennai prison by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Hugo Swire this week the day before an appeal hearing was to take place.
Mr Irving’s father, Jim Irving, confirmed that certain paperwork was unavailable at the hearing on Wednesday, and a new date was set for June 15.
Yvonne MacHugh, Billy Irving’s fiancee, said: “Minister Hugo Swire’s visit has brought hope to the families and despite the lack of communication between us and our men and I am more than certain this has been a huge boost to the moral of our men who are languishing in horrific conditions in a Indian prison cell.
“Would a government official fly to another country to visit men who are guilty of a crime? Of course not, This is the first time a government minister has visited a British citizen in a foreign prison. The reason why is simple. These are innocent men. Innocent fathers, innocent husbands, innocent sons and innocent brothers.”
She added: “We know our innocent men can not suffer any longer for a crime they did not commit, The British Government know these men are innocent and we want the world to know what a huge miscarriage of justice this whole case has been.”
Mr Swire said: “I have once again raised their case with the Indian Government in Delhi and Tamil Nadu, making clear our hope that it will move forward as quickly as possible and that it is being followed closely in the UK.”
