MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti) – Senegalese authorities skipped on Tuesday a pre-arranged meeting with Russian officials over the fate of a Russian trawler detained last week.
Representatives of Russia’s Federal Fisheries Agency reiterated allegations that the detention was instigated by Greenpeace, several Russian media reported early Wednesday.
Greenpeace, which has ties to Senegal’s fisheries minister, has denied the allegations earlier.
In 2012, the environmental organization busted the Oleg Naidenov trawler poaching fish off the West African coast.
The Russian-flagged Oleg Naidenov was detained by Senegalese border guards on Saturday with 62 Russians and 23 Guinea-Bissau crew onboard.
Official Dakar threatened ship owners with a fine of $800,000 for illegal fishing.
The ship’s captain and several crew members complained of physical abuse by Senegalese border guards.
Guinea-Bissau detained several Senegalese fishing boats on Monday in retaliation against the detention of its nationals, who remain on board the Oleg Naidenov.
