A Cumbrian man sentenced to five years in an Indian prison has been refused bail while waiting for his appeal to be heard.

John Armstrong , 27, from Wigton, will have to stay in prison until the appeal against his conviction is heard in three months’ time. The former paratropper is one of 35 men convicted of the illegal possession of guns in Indian waters.

The men, who include six Britons, 14 Estonians and three Ukrainians, have argued that they are innocent since their arrest in October 2013. They insist that they were legitimately employed as armed security guards on an American anti-piracy ship the Seaman Guard Ohio .

A court in India ruled yesterday that the arguments for bail would only be heard during the main appeal hearing, scheduled for June 1.

The Times of India also reported that a petition filed by the 35 crew members seeking to suspend the jail sentence was dismissed.

The decision came as a surprise to Mr Armstrong’s sister, Joanne Thomlinson , who thought her brother would be granted bail.

She said: “Obviously it’s a massive blow and really disappointing news. I think more just thinking about how John must be feeling. They will be absolutely gutted that they will have to stay in prison.”

Mrs Thomlinson heard the bad news through lawyers working on Mr Armstrong’s case. She is also in close contact with the families of the other 35 men who are campaigning to bring the men home.

Even though his bail application was refused, Mrs Thomlinson remains hopeful that his prison sentence will be overturned.

She said: “I don’t think the bail decision is any indication of the appeal decision.”

Mrs Thomlinson visited Mr Armstrong in January and was able to see him twice. She has to rely on letters to hear from him, which are only sent when someone visits the men in prison.

“The fact that they are innocent gives them hope that justice will be done,” she said.

A petition launched to free the six British men, all of whom are ex-soldiers, has gathered over 340,000 signatures. Mrs Armstrong wants it to reach at least half a million. The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/british-foreign-secretary-free-the-6-british-ex-soldiers-from-indian-jail .

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