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2 Indians convicted for hijacking Cuban boat

Two Indians who hijacked a Cuban fishing boat last year have been convicted by a United States federal court in Florida.

The Key West court held Gurpreet Singh and Baljeet Singh guilty of conspiring to interfere with maritime navigation, seizing a boat and attacking the crew.

The US Coast Guard boarded the boat in the Florida Straits after a distress call on July 10, 1999, and found five men on board, all injured.

The two Indians and a Pakistani, Mohammad Shevaz Chaudhry, had hired two Cuban nationals, captain Roberto Lima-Cutino and first mate Jesus Serantes-Garcia, for half a day's recreational cruise.

After the five men left Hemingway Marina in Havana on July 9 on the Born Free, the three passengers attacked the crew, prosecutors told the court. The mate was beaten with a club and stabbed with a broken bottle.

The passengers took control of the boat, but radioed for help when the seas became rough at night.

Chaudhry pleaded guilty to all counts. All three face 20 years in prison on each count, prosecutors said. They will be sentenced on June 19.

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