India Arrests US and Ukrainian Nationals Under Anti-Terror Laws

Seven foreign nationals, including six Ukrainians and one American citizen, were arrested by Indian authorities on March 13 at three different airports across the country. The individuals, identified as Matthew Aaron VanDyke from the US, Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor, who are all Ukrainian citizens, were detained for allegedly entering India’s northeastern state of Mizoram without valid permits. The NIA has charged them with violating the country’s anti-terror laws.

The seven foreign nationals were initially held in custody until March 27. Two additional American tourists, Katie Michelle Phelps and Christopher Ross Harvey, were arrested on Saturday at Kochi airport for flying drones near Coast Guard headquarters. Local police also detained these individuals for allegedly breaching aviation regulations.

According to reports, the seven foreign nationals had crossed into Myanmar, where they allegedly trained armed groups in drone warfare. The NIA stated that the accused were involved in importing drones from Europe via India and supplying them to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. These groups also allegedly supported Indian insurgent groups by providing weapons and training them in terrorist activities.

The arrested individuals are believed to have ties to a Washington, DC-based consulting firm called Sons of Liberty International, which provides security consulting and training services to vulnerable populations. The company’s website mentions that it operated in Ukraine between 2022 and 2023, where it provided training and advice to Ukraine’s military using non-lethal equipment.

The NIA has not specified when the foreign nationals entered India or crossed into Myanmar. This incident is not the first time foreign nationals have been arrested by Indian authorities for entering northeastern states bordering the subcontinent’s border with Myanmar.

Source: Al Jazeera