MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) - Three Ukrainian sailors accused of a murder in the Congo will be tried in the African state's capital of Kinshasa, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The Panama-flagged Island of Luck cargo vessel, with a 23-member crew, including 15 Ukrainians and four Russians, was detained on October 20 in Matadi, the main port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congolese police have accused three Ukrainians of murdering a local resident and beating several others.
The vessel brought 12 metric tons of rice worth $12,000 to Matadi on October 4. When preparing to release the ship from port, Congolese officials found three locals in the water near the vessel. The suspected illegal migrants were allegedly beaten by the crew and thrown overboard. A fourth reportedly drowned.
However, no traces of violence were found on three of the Congolese men, while the body of the fourth was buried without an autopsy on October 22.
The president of the Association of Sea Captains in the Russian Far East, Pyotr Osichansky, said earlier the Russian sailors had appealed to Russian authorities for assistance in order to return home adding that the crew's passports have been seized.
