On the same day that the brother and sister of Nick Dunn completed a world-famous half marathon, the Ashington sailor ran the same distance in laps around an Indian prison compound.
Nick was among six British sailors – dubbed the Chennai Six – making up a crew of 35 arrested by Indian authorities in October 2013 for allegedly carrying unlicensed weapons in Indian waters. They were later charged and when a court eventually quashed these charges in April 2014, they had been detained for six months. But the nightmare continued as Indian police appealed the decision and refused to return all the passports and documents, which meant the crew had to stay in the Asian country. And they were then sentenced to five years in prison at a court hearing in January 2016. They are still waiting for the appeal judgement. This hearing ended in November. Nick’s brother and sister, Paul and Lisa Dunn, ran the Great North Run, Newcastle to South Shields, on Sunday. They were raising awareness of the situation and money for an online fund-raising campaign to support the men – set-up by Yvonne MacHugh, fiancée of one of the Chennai Six, working with The Mission to Seafarers – which says they are ‘in prison for a crime they did not and could not commit’.
In his most recent letter to his sister, Nick said he had arranged to run the 13.1-mile distance on Sunday at the compound, which she says shows his ‘great strength of character’.
Lisa is among those who feature in short awareness videos made for the campaign. You can see them at www.youtube.com – search Jordan Wylie and click on the name with a photo next to it to bring up the videos.
She has also written a family impact statement for the charity Human Rights at Sea that is raising awareness of the Chennai Six’s plight and gave a couple of speeches at the London International Shipping Week event on Tuesday.
To make a donation to the online fund-raising campaign, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/freesgo6 Read more at: http://www.newspostleader.co.uk/news/nick-does-his-own-great-north-run-1-8753285
