VLADIVOSTOK, July 23 - RAPSI. The attorneys of those accused of causing a November 2008 accident on the Nerpa nuclear submarine, which claimed the lives of 20 people, have decided to appeal the Pacific Fleet Military Tribunal's decision to a prosecutor to uphold the application seeking to submit the case, Dmitry Prokopenko, the defense's representative, told RIA Novosti.

If the court rules in favor, the prosecutor would be obliged to submit the case for reconsideration. In this case, the defense could file an appeal for scheduling a number of examinations, the results of which they believe could prove the defendants' innocence.

Prokopenko said that the appeal will be submitted in the upcoming days.

The Nerpa submarine was conducting sea trials in the Sea of Japan (the East Sea) on November 8, 2008, when its freon-based fire-extinguishing system activated. The freon gas started to displace the breathable air in the submarine. Of the 208 on board, 20 were killed and 21 were hospitalized with toxication.

Investigators brought charges against Capt. Dmitry Lavrentyev and Petty Officer Dmitry Grobov. The hearing was held behind closed doors. The Pacific Fleet Military Tribunal acquitted Lavrentyev and Grobov on October 14, 2011. On May 3, 2012, the Supreme Court reversed the decision.

The acquittal passed by the military court caused a mixed reaction amongst the public. It was reported that the relatives of the deceased were angry, while Larionov and Grobov's colleagues approved of the decision, believing that investigators had simply been looking for someone on whom to place the blame.

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