President Donald Trump legally challenged in Scotland by wife of seized oil tanker's captain

President Donald Trump and UK authorities have been legally challenged in Scotland by the wife of the man who captained a Venezuela-linked oil tanker seized by US forces, claiming he is being detained unlawfully.

The Marinera, previously known as Bella-1, was captured earlier this month as it travelled north-east across the waters between Iceland and Scotland.

It was berthed in the Moray Firth near Burghead at the request of the US Coast Guard to allow essential supplies, including food and water, to be delivered on board.

At the time, John Swinney said he was not given prior notification of the plans to bring the vessel close to the Scottish mainland.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar has confirmed that a petition for Judicial review has been lodged by Natia Dzadzama, the wife of Marinera’s captain Avtandil Kalandadze, who is a Georgian national.

The lawyer has urged the Scottish Court of Sessions to intervene to “protect the legal rights” of the captain and the 26 crew members on board the seized vessel.

Anwar claims that Mr Kalandadze has been unable to defend himself due to the prevention of access to the Scottish legal system.

The Marinera was berthed in the Moray Firth. Peter Jolly

Legal papers have been served to the Lord Advocate head of criminal prosecution in Scotland, the Advocate General who acts for the UK Government, Scottish ministers and President Trump.

Anwar said: “The USA has previously respected our laws and worked closely with Scottish authorities when it came to the Lockerbie Terrorist attack.

“The Captain’s wife believes that it cannot be right that in a civilised society to abduct a whole crew in Scotland and with assistance from the UK authorities, remove them without observing our laws.

“Today we seek an emergency order seeking that the authorities act to stop the removal of the Ship, Captain and crew, before a full hearing takes place over the coming days.”

The Marinera is thought to have been pursued across the Atlantic by US forces in an operation which also received support from UK forces, though they did not board the vessel.

The UK Government, Scottish Government, Crown Office and White House have been contacted for comment.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service confirmed that a petition for judicial review was lodged with the court on Monday afternoon.