Prestige captain to remain in jail
MADRID (AP) – A Spanish court has upheld a jailing order against the Greek captain of the sunken Prestige tanker but it also urged investigations into whether government decisions during the crisis made matters worse. In an order made public on Saturday, the provincial court of La Coruna rejected an appeal against the jailing of Captain Apostolos Mangouras, 67, saying there was «solid and conclusive» evidence he disobeyed Spanish authorities in refusing to have the stricken tanker towed out to sea. There was also ample evidence Mangouras contributed to a crime against the environment, the court said, and insisted that he should remain jailed, or pay bail of 3 million euros. Mangouras has been in prison since November 17, four days after the Prestige started taking on water. It sank two days later, and has since spilled at least a quarter of the 77,000 metric tons (20.5 million gallons) of its fuel oil cargo. The court said it should be ascertained «who, where, how, when, why and on what basis» the decision was made to tow the tanker out to sea.
