A Russian court has found 12 North Korean fishermen guilty of attacking the Russian coast guard after they were caught squid fishing illegally in the East Sea, sentencing two to multiyear prison terms and releasing the others on time served.
The North Koreans were charged under Article 317, “encroachment on the life of an officer of a law enforcement agency,” a press release from the Primorsky Regional Court states.
The incident occurred in 2019, when the North Korean fishermen used metal rods, pipes and a knife to fight off Russian coast guard officials attempting to apprehend them for illegal squid fishing, according to the court. One of the 18 North Koreans reportedly died in custody after that attack.
Three of the North Koreans on board the ship already faced sentencing in 2020: One received seven years in a penal colony and another four years, while NK News is unable to confirm the sentence of the third fishermen.
Out of the remaining 14 North Koreans, the Russian court ordered only two to remain in custody on Thursday. One was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony, while another was sentenced to 8 years, according to a court statement released Friday.
The court acquitted two of the fishermen and released the other 10 found guilty, according to the Friday statement, ruling that they had already served their sentence while in custody awaiting their trial.
North Koreans are known to poach in Russian waters, where squid stocks are plentiful. In 2019, Russia detained a whopping 3,754 North Korean fishers in Russia’s Far East.