Mock trial for British sailors

2007-03-27 19:07

Tehran - Students staged a mock trial on Tuesday for 15 British sailors and marines Tehran says were seized inside Iranian territorial waters, reported the student news agency Isna.

It said the "symbolic trial" was held in the south-western border town of Shalamsheh, the scene of fierce fighting in Iran's eight-year war with neighbouring Iraq from 1980 to 1988.

"The prosecutor examined the crimes and acts of oppression perpetrated by British colonialism," said the news agency, adding that the summing up was greeted by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Britain".

Isna said the students denounced "the British sailors who violated (Iran's) territorial waters" and demanded "they be punished".

The exact whereabouts of the 15 Britons - 14 men and one woman - remain unknown since they were arrested by Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Friday.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tehran on Tuesday that efforts to secure their release would enter a "different phase" if diplomatic efforts failed.

Entered 'illegally'

London, supported by Iraq, insists that the 15 were on "routine" anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi waters when they were seized at gunpoint in the Shatt al-Arab waterway in the north of the Gulf.

Iran says they entered its territorial waters illegally. The BBC, citing sources, said they were now being held in Tehran and being interrogated by the Revolutionary Guards.

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett demanded on Tuesday consular access to the 15 and called for their swift release, dismissing any suggestion they were involved in espionage.

"We have said from the beginning we would like to see this matter resolved swiftly and peacefully. I hope that can happen soon," she told a news conference in Ankara after talks with Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul.

Resolving the crisis

Gul said Turkey was in contact with Iran to facilitate a resolution of the crisis.

Beckett later cut short her visit after a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart over the 15 sailors, said a foreign ministry official in Ankara.

The official said the call was related to the 15 naval personnel. British embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.

- AFP