VLADIVOSTOK, July 19 - RAPSI. On Thursday, the Pacific Fleet Military Tribunal ordered the Nerpa submarine accident case to be reconsidered by the jury, an attorney of one of the defendants told RIA Novosti.

"The defendants used their right to submit an appeal to the Pacific Fleet Military Court to have their case reconsidered by jurors. The court has upheld the appeal," the attorney said.

On Nov. 8, 2008, the Akula-II class nuclear attack submarine was running sea trials in the Sea of Japan in the western Pacific when its freon-based fire extinguishing system malfunctioned, killing 20 of the 208 people on board and injuring 21.

Captain Dmitry Lavrentyev was charged with abuse of power and engineer Dmitry Grobov was accused of negligently causing death. The Pacific Fleet Military Tribunal acquitted both on October 14, 2011, after a jury found them not guilty. The Supreme Court's military board overturned the verdict in May and ordered a retrial.

In March this year, Nerpa was leased by Russia to the Indian Navy for ten years.