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n Indonesian seafarer working as the helmsman of the ill-fated cruise ship Costa Concordia, which sank off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, in 2012, has refused to show up at an Italian court.

Rusli bin Jakub claimed he was undergoing medical treatment at Omni International Hospital in East Jakarta for shock, depression and trauma caused by the accident.

“I decided not to show up at the Grecetho District Court in Italy after consulting with my doctor at the hospital and the KPI [Indonesian Seafarers’ Association],” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He admitted to receiving a summons from the district court through Interpol and the Italian Embassy in Jakarta, requesting that he travel to Italy to testify before the court.

At least 32 people were killed and many others were seriously injured when the giant vessel capsized after hitting rocks on Jan. 13, 2012. Prosecutors have accused the multi-story vessel’s captain, Francesco Shettino, of causing the accident.

Shettino was held responsible for directing the cruise, which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, too close to the shore in order to perform a display maneuver known as a “salute”.

Shettino, however, blamed the incident on Rusli, whom he said did not obey his orders as the captain.

Rusli said, “I have made two statements to the Italian police that I complied with the order of the captain, who instructed me to direct the vessel to certain coordinates in an attempt to make a maneuver off the rocky islet.”

Rusli, who worked as a helmsman on the vessel for 12 years, said he had been pressured by an Italian lawyer hired by the vessel operator, Costa, to admit culpability in the incident or face having his work contract terminated.

As well as the official investigation, Costa and its parent company Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise operator, face a wave of civil suits from the victims’ families and from passengers and crew members aboard the ship.

Separately, Oely Mardi Santoso, the psychiatrist at the hospital treating Rusli, declined to discuss her client’s physical and mental condition. “I cannot do that due to the Hippocratic Oath,” she said.

Rusli said he was distressed and he broke out in rashes every time he thought about the incident and he could not work to support his four-member family while the vessel operator contributed only US$250 per month to cover his medical treatment.

KPI chairman Hanafi Rustandi said the union would support Rusli at the case and had advised him not to show up at court after consulting with the hospital and the Italian maritime union. Hanafi said he had delivered a letter to the foreign minister, seeking help from the Indonesian Embassy in Rome to provide legal advocacy for Rusli.