A Finnish court on Thursday found a Russian ship captain and an Azerbaijani crew member guilty of aggravated sabotage after their vessel, the cargo ship Fitburg, damaged two underwater telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland last year.
Finland seized the Fitburg in the Gulf of Finland on Dec. 31 while it was sailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Israel. Authorities in the Nordic country suspected it purposefully damaged cables running from Finland to nearby Estonia.
A judge at the Helsinki District Court sentenced the Russian ship captain to 3 years and 6 months in prison, while the Azerbaijani crew member received 2 years and 10 months.
In a statement, the court said the two men acted intentionally when the ship dragged an anchor chain and shank along the seabed for around 130 kilometers (81 miles).
Lawyers said that the Fitburg's captain will appeal the verdict, though the crew member has not yet decided whether to do so.
The Helsinki District Court also ordered the two men to jointly pay around 1.9 million euros ($2.1 million) in damages. The captain is required to pay another 85,000 euros, the verdict showed.
Both the captain and crew member, who have remained in Finland since the Fitburg's seizure and are subject to travel bans, have denied any wrongdoing. They also challenged Finland's jurisdiction in the case.
The 14 crew members of the vessel were nationals of Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, investigators said.
Finland has stepped up efforts to protect its undersea infrastructure following a string of incidents impacting cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea in recent years.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
