Michael Zweiback, a partner in Arent Fox’s Complex Litigation practice and a former Assistant US Attorney, secured the freedom of a Croatian citizen and chief engineer of a cargo ship who has been indefinitely detained by US officials for more than a year on charges that were never proven and that were dismissed at the time of sentencing.  Dejan Vodopic was accused of discharging oil into the Pacific Ocean in violation of international maritime law after four whistleblowers from the crew of the M/V Bellavia notified the US Coast Guard in October, 2013.      As a result, Vodopic and the rest of the crew were detained for over a year after being removed from their vessel. They were held without due process rights because of a contract between the company and the United States Coast Guard. At the direction of the United States Attorney’s office, the crew’s passports were held and they were prevented from departing the country.  They had no access to the courts and no rights under the material witness statutes defined under the United States Criminal Code.  Instead, Vodopic accepted a negotiated plea deal for a lesser offense that included a probationary sentence of three years and a fine of $15,000.  The government had been seeking a prison sentence for Vodopic, after accusing him of pumping fuel out of a tank that had been compromised during a shipping accident in the Panama Canal, failing to maintain an accurate record book, and making false statements.   The United States District Court, Central District of California; Hon. George Wu; CR 14-419(A)-GW accepted the plea agreement and imposed a probationary sentence and sentenced him immediately, an unusual occurrence, so that he could depart the United States for his home country of Slovenia.  Previously, Herm. Daulsberg GMBH & Co. KG, the operator of the M/V Bellavia, entered into a Security Agreement with the US Coast Guard, paying a $1.25 million fine that allowed it to obtain the necessary clearance to leave the Port of Long Beach and resume operations in exchange for the indefinite detention of 11 crew members in Southern California.   Vodopic and several other crew members were never consulted or shown the Security Agreement that led to them being detained in a hotel for nearly a year – thousands of miles from their homes and families. A Croatian citizen, Vodopic’s home is in Slovenia where he has a wife and three young daughters. He also was unable to attend the funeral of his father who died while Vodopic was in custody.