19 December 2016 – An incident on November 22 involving seafarers resulted in the death of two persons and the arrest of one. Both the victims and the alleged perpetrator are Filipino citizens.

The incident occurred on board a fishing vessel while on Russian waters. On December 08, both the remains of the victims and the suspect were delivered to Valdivostok, a major city in Russia’s easternmost Primorskiy Region 9,000 kilometers away from Moscow.

An initial autopsy of the victims’ bodies was conducted on December 15. According to Russian authorities, the remains will be held in custody for further investigative activities. The Philippine Embassy in Moscow, together with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Vladivostok and with full support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, is working towards the repatriation of the remains to the victims’ families in the Philippines as soon as the investigation permits.

The suspect is currently detained in Vladivostok and is awaiting trial under a Russian court pending investigation. The Embassy is working on providing legal assistance and is making arrangements to visit the accused at the soonest possible time. END