People's Navy halted

News in Brief

On 11 March, British human rights protesters Peter Bouquet and Jon Castle, both former Greenpeace captains, were intercepted at sea off the island base of Diego Garcia by a British warship. They were detained for allegedly “entering waters illegally” on board their vessel, Musichana.

The two men are part of a group called the People's Navy and were demonstrating against the removal of the Chagos Islanders from their homes on Diego Garcia nearly 40 years ago to make way for a military base, and against the admitted use of the base by the US for bombing of Iraq and rendition flights.