File of Detained Crew of Saudi Vessel Sent to Court

The prosecutor of Bushehr stated that an indictment has been prepared for five crew members of a Saudi vessel that was recently detained in Iranian waters, and their case has been sent to court. In an interview with the official news agency of the judiciary, Mizan, Ali Hassanpour also reported that the crew of this Saudi vessel is accused of 'violating the waters of the Islamic Republic' and 'illegal fishing.' In July of this year, Iranian officials reported two separate incidents involving the seizure of two Saudi vessels and the detention of their occupants. In one of these incidents, reported on July 6, a Saudi fishing vessel was stopped by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy for entering Iranian waters. At that time, it was announced that this fishing vessel had four occupants, all of whom were detained by the Revolutionary Guard Navy. Two weeks later, in another incident, Iranian media reported the detention of another fishing vessel and five of its crew members near Farsi Island, again by the Revolutionary Guard Navy, which operates in the Persian Gulf. In both incidents, the detainees were identified as Indian nationals, and Iran stated that decisions regarding them would be made based on 'reciprocal behavior' by Saudi Arabia towards detained Iranian sailors. This references the seizure of 'three Iranian fishing boats' by the Saudi border guard in late June, during which 'one Iranian fisherman' was killed and 'three others' were detained. However, the Saudi Ministry of Security provided a different account of this incident, stating that the detainees were 'members of the Revolutionary Guard' and had approached Saudi oil platforms in the Gulf on 'a boat carrying weapons,' a claim that Iranian officials have denied. The crossing of fishing vessels in the maritime borders leading to the detention of these vessels and their occupants has been frequently reported in Iranian media and other Gulf countries in recent years, with Kuwaiti officials also occasionally reporting the detention of Iranian vessels and their crews. In response, Iran has also published reports about several vessels belonging to Gulf countries, and in January 2017, it was announced that in the first nine months of that year, 12 such fishing vessels were detained and their occupants arrested. Iran has primarily accused detainees of 'illegal entry' into its waters and 'illegal fishing.' Southern Iran has extensive maritime borders with some Arab countries, and reports of fishermen being detained in these waters are published annually; however, in recent years, especially with the increase in tensions between Iran and Gulf countries, such reports have increased. Local fishermen are typically arrested on charges of 'illegal entry' into the waters of the country that detained them, imprisoned for a period, and released after negotiations. For instance, in early July of this year, Saudi Arabia released five fishermen from Bushehr and Genaveh who had been detained by the Saudi Coast Guard last year.