Rescued crew of Greek ship sank by Houthis taken to Saudi Arabia
The rescue mission began on Wednesday when the Iran-aligned group sank the Liberia-flagged Eternity C cargo ship, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days.
Eight crew members and two security guards were rescued. All the crew were Filipino, except for one Russian.
On Sunday, maritime risk management firm Diaplous and British security firm Ambrey said in a joint statement that the vessel's owner had decided to end the privately run search for the remaining crew.
"The decision to end the search has been taken by the vessel's owner reluctantly, but it believes that, in all the circumstances, the priority must now be to get the 10 souls safely recovered alive ashore," they said.
The ship carrying the rescued crew has arrived in Jizan, a Diaplous official said.
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TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Rescued crew of Greek ship sank by Houthis taken to Saudi Arabia
Ten mariners rescued after Houthi militants sank a Greek ship last week have arrived in Saudi Arabia, maritime security sources said on Monday, after rescuers ended their search for the remaining crew. The rescue mission began on Wednesday when the Iran-aligned group sank the Liberia-flagged Eternity C cargo ship, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days. Eight crew members and two security guards were rescued. All the crew were Filipino, except for one Russian. On Sunday, maritime risk management firm Diaplous and British security firm Ambrey said in a joint statement that the vessel's owner had decided to end the privately run search for the remaining crew. "The decision to end the search has been taken by the vessel's owner reluctantly, but it believes that, in all the circumstances, the priority must now be to get the 10 souls safely recovered alive ashore," they said. The ship carrying the rescued crew has arrived in Jizan, a Diaplous official said.
The Citizen
5 days ago
- The Citizen
‘All in the name of God': Murder and abuse allegations rock KZN rehab centre
A facility meant to heal has become the centre of allegations involving torture, forced conversions, and a brutal regime masquerading as recovery. Tetelestai Recovery Centre (TRC) in Winklespruit, KwaZuluNatal, is at the centre of controversy following the alleged murder of inpatient Luke Edwards, 32. Former residents have come forward on social media and to The Citizen with allegations of brutality including violence, psychological torture, sexual exploitation and physical abuse. All were purportedly meted out in the name of God, under the eye of proprietor Donovan de Klerk. A death shrouded in abuse and isolation In April, Edwards' body was found dumped at an old age home up the road from Tetelestai. While the state autopsy results remain outstanding, The Citizen has seen pictures which appear to show he had been severely beaten. According to testimony in court, Edwards tried to escape from the facility on 9 April after being placed in isolation and denied adequate food. It was then alleged that four inpatients called monitors, who oversee fellow residents, beat him to eventual death. The four alleged killers Lloyd Ramsbottom, 29, Banele Mseleku, 24, Jean Pierre Van Niekerk, 28, and Njabulo Brandon Dlamini, 28, pleaded not guilty and were granted bail on Wednesday after first being denied bail last week. Tetelestai Recovery Centre owner Donovan de Klerk. Picture: Supplied Fear, control and 'therapy' by punishment The centre is run by De Klerk, a recovering addict, his wife Laticia and a friend. According to Google, 'Tetelestai' is a Greek word meaning 'it is finished' or 'it is completed' and purportedly the last words Jesus said on the cross. Macy, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, sought help at Tetelestai two years ago. She said she left traumatised and stripped of dignity. ALSO READ: Dentist on murder rap after Austrian dies in 'rehab' From the day of intake, she said, all personal freedoms were confiscated. People are then placed in isolation for up to a few weeks, medication taken away and they are detoxed under the watchful eye of monitors, or recovering addicts, she said. 'People are left in there to scream in a locked room for days on end,' Macy said. Claims of humiliation and forced labour Macy said her days at TRC were filled with enduring and witnessing degrading punishments disguised as therapy. She was frequently forced to scrub floors and tiles for hours with a toothbrush, repeatedly ordered to clean the same spot. Speaking up in protest meant harsher punishment. 'It wasn't therapy. It was abuse. They humiliate you to control you,' she said. 'All in the name of God.' Private investigator Brad Nathanson, retained by the Edwards family to probe the alleged murder of their son, said his investigation unearthed numerous, consistent reports of abuse, including violent punishments and coercion. The investigator's Facebook page became an outlet for many former inpatients to ventilate their experiences, none positive. Nathanson said TRC lacked medical professionals to appropriately manage addicts, violated safety standards and used patients for unpaid, harsh punishment-labour under constant surveillance. Luke Edwards' body. Picture: Supplied Alleged danger, violence and survival inside TRC Jack, a pseudonym, was a former patient who spoke to The Citizen. He went to Tetelestai believing it would help him conquer his drinking problem. ALSO READ: One in four alcohol addicted teens first exposed by family members He sold his possessions to pay for treatment, only to discover what he described as a prison camp. He arrived inebriated and was made to sign paperwork while drunk, only to be told later that he was legally bound to the centre and could not leave at will. Macy said people who attempted to escape were collected by teams of recovering addicts. She said returnees came back bleeding and with bruises at times. Jack described how a disabled resident with a fused leg was restrained and forcibly bent by monitors as punishment, resulting in severe injuries. The man later jumped from a second-storey window and got away. Macy said she witnessed a female resident jump from a second-floor window during an episode of what looked like severe distress. 'She lay there in agony with a shattered leg,' Macy said. 'They left her there for hours, claiming it was 'God's punishment'. No-one helped her. It was horrifying.' 'Forced' religious conversion Medics were eventually called, she said. Christian teaching, former patients said, permeated the TRC. De Klerk presented himself as the centre's spiritual leader, Macy said, and preached daily. Jack said residents were forced to convert to Christianity. He witnessed Muslims being made to strip off religious clothing and abandon their faith to study the Bible under threat of punishment. Jack spent time in detox, describing conditions worse than jail. He said he was housed with violent ex-convicts, including alleged members of the notorious numbers prison gangs. ALSO READ: Here is how long you could spend in jail for drug trafficking in SA Knives were hidden around the facility, sharpened on floors and used as intimidation tools. 'I feared for my life at every turn,' he said. Punishments he endured included cleaning toilets covered in faeces, blood or semen using bare hands or toothbrushes for hours. Claims of medical neglect and overcrowding Food, or lack of it, was another alleged form of punishment and control. Residents were allegedly fed shelf-life expired groceries. Jack said the kitchen was filthy. 'We were once so hungry we stole brinjals from the kitchen and cooked them over candles in our dorm,' he said. A punishment called 'full hold' was described as physical and psychological torture. Inmates were forced to sit on cold floors, drawing shapes on tiles with their fingers for 30 days, with food and basic comforts limited. Others were made to dig holes with teaspoons in the garden, only to fill them in again. Former inpatients said unqualified monitors dished out medication and the only nurse ever present was a recovering addict and helped only during her tenure. Macy claimed she saw a counsellor once. Jack was never on a psychologist's couch at TRC. But at least one formal complaint was laid. A South Coast social worker wrote to the department of social development in KwaZulu-Natal three years ago about the centre. ALSO READ: Drug-addicted mother who killed son and went to church gets 20 years Watch: Former Tetelestai Recovery Centre residents speak out: In the letter, seen by The Citizen, the social worker, whose daughter-in-law was an inpatient, accused De Klerk of having a relationship with her son's wife while she was vulnerable. There are also questions surrounding TRC's registration. An eThekwini municipality permit dated 2024 allows for the residence of 40 men and 30 women. Another certificate, dated March this year and issued by the provincial department of social development, limits inpatients to 20 and noted that no detox activities may occur on the premises. Macy and Jack both alleged, however, that over 100 patients were housed at the centre during their time, with severe overcrowding in the men's quarters. 'Control, power and profiting' Former patient Bill said: 'That place isn't about healing. It's about control, power and profiting off the vulnerable.' Macy agreed. 'They destroyed me. They will keep destroying others until someone stops them.' The social worker's letter to the department stated: 'They have caused devastating harm to vulnerable people. They must be deregistered without delay.' Psychologist and medical doctor Dr Jonathan Redelinghuys said: 'Placing people dealing with addiction into environments that involve humiliation, deprivation and violence creates extreme trauma responses.' He said these conditions could lead to aggression, depression and learned helplessness. According to Redelinghuys, addiction requires a dedicated team. 'Detoxing can be life-threatening,' he said. 'It requires professional, university-degreed medical oversight.' NOW READ: R13m already overspent on Gauteng rehab stuck in planning phase since 2018
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Iran threat to UK significant and rising, say MPs
Though the evidence given to the committee concluded in August 2023, the MPs said their recommendations about action the government should take remained relevant. Last year, the head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 said that since January 2022 his service and British police responded to 20 Iran-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals based in Britain and regarded by Tehran as a threat. Iran reacted to that speech by rejecting what it said were repetitive accusations by British security officials. In March, Britain said it would require the Iranian state to register everything it does to exert political influence in the UK, subjecting Tehran to an elevated tier of scrutiny in light of what it said was increasingly aggressive activity. British security services say Tehran uses criminal proxies to carry out its work in Britain. In December, two Romanians were charged after a journalist working for a Persian language media organisation in London was stabbed in the leg, while last month three Iranian men appeared in court charged with assisting Iran's foreign intelligence service and plotting violence against journalists. Reuters
