The Arctic Sea was seized by a group of hijackers in Swedish waters in the Baltic Sea on July the 24th this year, as it was carrying a load of lumber from Finland to Algeria.
The eight defendants include citizens of Estonia, Russia, and Latvia. The members of the ship’s crew were Russian, from Archangel.
NBI Still Investigating Case
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation is still conducting its own investigation into the case, and NBI investigator Rabbe von Herzen says that the Russian court decision does not mean that the case could not be handled in Finland as well.
The NBI also hopes to interrogate the suspected hijackers in Russia – possibly before the end of the year.