April 06, 2007
U.K. Sailors: Capture Was 'Complete Media Stunt'
Seven of the 15 British sailors and marines held prisoner in Iran for nearly two weeks denounced their capture as a "media stunt" and denied that they had violated Iranian waters or that they surrendered to the Revolutionary Guard prematurely and willingly.
"Let me make it absolutely clear: Irrespective of what was said in the past when we were detained, we were inside internationally recognized waters" that belonged to Iraq, Royal Marine Capt. Chris Air said at a press conference today, where the seven sailors and marines spoke to the media.
Air said that during a "routine boarding operation" aboard a cargo vessel in Iraqi waters on March 23, he and his crew were surprised by "two speed boats" carrying Revolutionary Guard members. "I ordered the boarding party back to their boats," Air said, "but by the time they were on board the boats arrived. When we tried to leave they prevented us by blocking us in."
Air said that the Iranians behaved erratically and aggressively from the beginning of the encounter, making it "increasingly clear they had arrived with intent."
The marine captain and his Royal Navy counterpart, Lt. Felix Carman, asserted that use of force against the Iranians was off the table. "Let me be absolutely clear. From the outset it was apparent fighting back was simply not an option. Had we chosen to do so, many of us would not be sitting here today," Carman said. Noting that the United Kingdom is not currently at war with Iran, Carman later added, "Any attempt to fight back would have caused a major international incident that would have increased tension in the region. We had seconds to make the decision" not to resist with force.
The British media, and tabloids in particular, have questioned why the service members did not forcefully resist capture and why they made videotaped and written statements the Iranians described as "confessions." On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced he was releasing the Britons as an Easter "gift" amid much fanfare, shaking their hands and sending them off with gift bags and in new suits.
The service members described their overall treatment as "humane" but said they were under intense psychological duress. The crew was blindfolded upon being captured and for the duration of their captivity, members said. In what were described as "mind games," they were initially led to assume the Iranians would take them to the British Embassy in Tehran, only to arrive in a prison instead. At the prison, they were led to believe they might be executed when their captors lined them up, bound their hands and began "cocking weapons in the background." For the first few days, each member was kept in isolation, with no knowledge of the other captives' welfare.
From then on, they were subjected to "random interrogations" every night and eventually given two options: serve up to seven years in prison or confess to violating Iran's waters.
"We all together made a conscious decision to release nonoperational information," Carman said, explaining that all the crew's so-called confessions were peppered with "apparently" or "perceived" or "according to this evidence" as a hedge against outright declarations of guilt.
"The pressures we were subjected to were quite diverse, mainly psychological and emotional," Carman said, when asked to detail any abuses. "We didn't know if the outside world knew if we were missing. We were absolutely starved for information," he added, acknowledging that not knowing if his country was even looking for him led to "some pretty low times."
Leading Seaman Faye Turney -- the lone woman among the 15 who, in letters and in videotaped interviews, appeared to apologize to the Iranians -- received the worst treatment in a way, her colleagues said.
Turney "was separated from us as soon as we got there" because she was a woman, Air said. "She was told shortly after that we'd all been returned home. She was under the impression for four days that she was the only one" left in the prison, he said.
The heightened scrutiny of Turney by Iranians (Ahmadinejad scolded Britain for sending a mother to the region) and some Westerners has been criticized as unfair, and that sentiment was shared by her fellow crewmen.
"She coped admirably and retained a lot of her dignity and maintained that throughout" the ordeal, Air said. "She's a highly professional operator, and we are incredibly proud to have her as a member of our team," Carman agreed. "She was used as a propaganda tool by Iran, and that is deeply regrettable."
None of the seven outright criticized the Iranian regime, but Royal Marine Joe Tindell came the closest. When asked what he thought of Ahmadinejad, who was all smiles and handshakes during Wednesday's meet-and-greet, Tindell replied, "The whole thing was a complete media stunt.
"I've got nothing to say about him. I'm not his biggest fan, put it that way," Tindell added.
(Hat tip: Liza Porteus of FOX News for help with the crewmembers' names.)
