Two Vietnamese boat captains detained by Indonesia for allegedly fishing in the country’s waters desired to have the positions at which they were caught revealed but are presented with long-winded procedural problems if their request is granted.

On April 13, 2017, armed guards from Indonesia chased the boats of Luu Van Ly and Le Thanh Thua, before arresting the men on charges that they were fishing illegally in the country’s exclusive economic zone – an area where the owner enjoys special rights in exploring and using marine resources.

Ly and Thua, who skippered the boats licensed by authorities in Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province, made appeals against the accusation.

They stood trial for the second time on Thursday in Ranai, the capital city of the Natuna Regency archipelago in Indonesia.

They demanded that the court determine their retrospective locations of supposed illegal fishing thanks to the GPS device installed on their boats.

“I want to switch on the GPS device to show you that I was caught in the waters of Vietnam, rather than of Indonesia, unlike what was written in the Indonesian document I was forced to sign out of death threats,” Ly said.

He added that he had prepared necessary equipment for operating the GPS device.

Fahri, a judge at the hearing, said he understood Ly’s requirement but the stage where the tool was expected to be used had passed.

This means that all the results from the proceedings and investigation into his case over the past one year must be annulled and the entire process has to be repeated if he persistently wants to have recourse to the device, according to Fahri.

“Do you agree?” the judge asked him about the scenario. Ly remained silent.

Luu Van Ly (front) sits inside a courtroom in Ranai, Indonesia March 29, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Christoper, Ly’s lawyer, reiterated that his client was innocent, underscoring Ly was fishing in Vietnam’s waters.

A representative from the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia who promised to be present at the court failed to arrive.

“I’ve on many occasions asked to have the attendance of a representative from the Vietnamese Embassy to guarantee the rights of Vietnamese citizens, but that person didn’t come,” Ly said.

At the end of the hearing, Ly wished to go to jail early so that he could have a chance to soon join his family and work again to support them.  

The other captain, Le Thanh Thua, also encountered the same picturing from the judge and wanted to have early imprisonment.

The two men will receive their verdict on April 17.

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