MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow City Court will consider on Wednesday an appeal submitted by a suspect in the Arctic Sea ship seizure case, against a lower court ruling not to hand the case to investigators in Malta or Sweden.
Dmitry Bartenev is reportedly one of the eight armed men who boarded the Finnish-owned, Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea ship manned by a Russian crew and listed as carrying lumber from Russia to Algeria. The vessel was freed off Cape Verde on August 16 by a Russian warship.
"We will appeal the ruling of the first instance court, which said the investigators' refusal... to hand the case to relevant bodies in Sweden or Malta was legitimate," Bartnev's lawyer, Konstantin Baranovsky, said.
He added that the case should be handed either to Sweden, as the incident took place in its territorial waters, or to Malta, as the vessel was flying the country's flag.
A state prosecutor said it was impossible under the Russian constitution, as Russian nationals were among the suspects.
The freighter was handed over to Maltese authorities in late October. The ship was given permission to enter the port following a thorough inspection by Maltese officials.
In early November, four sailors, who had remained on board the Arctic Sea, returned to their home base in northern Russia.
The Arctic Sea, sailing under a new 14-member crew, left the Maltese port for Algeria on November 11, to resume its route interrupted by hijackers.
