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Disturbing="excerpt"]ATHENS — The American captain of a United States-flagged boat in the planned flotilla to Gaza was jailed Saturday, a day after trying to sail out of port, flotilla organizers said.
A judge contended that the boat, The Audacity of Hope, was not carrying proper safety equipment and charged the captain, John Klusmire, with “disturbing sea traffic and endangering passengers,” a felony, and with disobeying an official directive, a misdemeanor, said Ann Wright, an organizer.
The flotilla was organized to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Greece’s Ministry of Citizen Protection banned all vessels from leaving Greek ports for the “maritime area of Gaza.” The police had also ordered The Audacity of Hope to remain docked until the port authorities provided the results of an inspection. After waiting one week for the inspection results, however, organizers decided to sail without Greek authorization.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/world/europe/03athens.html?_r=1
The beauty(at least from the Israeli or US perspective) is that with a corrupt country like Greece, the right amount of money placed in the right hands or the right promises in the right ear can go a long way. I wonder what promises were made to the Greek government?
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