SOMALIA: Somali pirates to serve 20 years in jail as replacement Chinese escort ships head for Gulf of Aden

Record ID: 590923

  • Title: SOMALIA: Somali pirates to serve 20 years in jail as replacement Chinese escort ships head for Gulf of Aden
  • Date: 12th April 2009
  • Summary: BOSSASO, SOMALIA (APRIL 11, 2009) (REUTERS) PIRATES WALKING TO COURT ROOM VARIOUS OF PIRATES IN COURT VARIOUS OF PIRATES LISTENING TO JUDGEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) COURT CLERK MOHAMED ABDI AWARE, SAYING: "The accused are charged under article 205 which states that, any person who tries to hijack a ship from the sea either owned by a Somali national or that belongs to a foreigner, is punishable to a jail term of 20 years. The court rules that 8 of you and 2 who are not present will each serve 20 years in jail. You may appeal the judgement." VARIOUS OF SENTENCED PIRATES GOING TO JAIL NEWS CONFERENCE BY PUNTLAND PRESIDENT ABDIRAHMAN MOHAMUD FAROLE (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) PUNTLAND PRESIDENT ABDIRAHMAN MOHAMUD FAROLE SAYING: "We are very sorry about the incidents taking place in our waters, we send our condolences to all those who have been affected by piracy and those whose property has been destroyed when the hijackings took place." PRESIDENT FAROLE DRINKING WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) PUNTLAND PRESIDENT ABDIRAHMAN MOHAMUD FAROLE SAYING: "We don't advocate for any ransom to be paid to the pirates and we support the French government which uses force while taking on the pirates and they do not pay ransom to them." VARIOUS OF BOSSASO CENTRAL JAIL WHERE PIRATES ARE BEING HELD
  • Embargoed: 27th April 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVABNHEQBDVOEZN86LBHR6S8C8TO
  • Story Text: Puntland authority jails Somali nationals for conducting piracy in the Indian Ocean. Chinese naval vessels protecting ships from Somali pirates replenish supplies in the Indian Ocean as they head for the Gulf of Aden.
    Ten Somali pirates were sentenced to twenty years in prison by a court in the Somali town of Bossaso on Saturday (April 11) for attacking a Somali-bound, Syrian registered ship Mv Wael-H.
    Puntland security forces arrested the men and killed three other pirates in a successful military operation after two weeks of negotiations to release the ship failed early in October last year.
    One government soldier was killed in the operation. Nine others men accused of piracy were sent back to jail after claiming to be fishermen.
    Judges say they have a video showing the men carrying arms and other devices that will be shown to the court on Sunday.
    20 years is the maximum sentence the court in Bossaso can give for piracy, according to the court clerk.

    "The accused are charged under article 205 which states that, any person who tries to hijack a ship from the sea either owned by a Somali national or that belongs to a foreigner, is punishable to a jail term of 20 years. The court rules that 8 of you and 2 who are not present will each serve 20 years in jail. You may appeal the judgement," said court clerk Mohamed Abdi Aware.
    The French navy arrested nine suspects after blocking their attempt to hijack the cargo ship 'African Ruby', which came under attack from armed men on board two speeding boats in the Gulf of Aden in January.
    Speaking to the media in Bossaso, Puntland President Abdiraham Mohamud Farole said he sympathised with the families of all those who had come under attack from the pirates.

    "We are very sorry about the incidents taking place in our waters, we send our condolences to all those who have been affected by piracy and those whose property has been destroyed when the hijackings took place,"
    Farole said.
    Last year, heavily armed Somali pirates hijacked dozens of vessels, took hundreds of sailors hostage -- often for weeks -- and extracted millions of dollars in ransoms.
    Foreign navies rushed warships to the area in response and reduced the number of successful attacks. But there are still near-daily attempts and the pirates have also started hunting further afield near the Seychelles.

    "We don't advocate for any ransom to be paid to the pirates and we support the French government which uses force while taking on the pirates and they do not pay ransom to them," Farole added.
    More U.S. warships have been sent towards a lifeboat drifting in international waters off Somalia, where pirates have been holding Captain Phillips since trying to hijack his ship, the 17,000-tonne, Danish-owned Maersk Alabama, on Wednesday (April 8).
    The captain's relatives have said he volunteered to get in the lifeboat with the pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew, who regained control of the Maersk Alabama.
    Phillips is one of about 250 hostages being held by Somali pirates preying on the busy sea lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
    There are more Filipinos than any other nationality and the pirates are keeping about 16 captured vessels at or near lairs like Eyl, Hobyo and Haradheere on Somalia's eastern coast -- five of them taken in the last week alone.
    Meanwhile a second group of Chinese naval escort ships replenished supplies in the Indian Ocean on Saturday (April 11) on their way to replace a flotilla sent earlier to guard against pirates, Chinese state media reported.
    Supply ship 'Weishanhu', which also served with the first group, transferred fuel, water and essential foodstuffs to destroyer 'Shenzhen', and frigate 'Huangshan', state television reported.
    The ships set off from China at the beginning of April and are expected to arrive at their destination - Gulf of Aden - on Monday (April 13).
    The group, which has two helicopters and amore than 800 crew, have been sent principally to ensure the safety of Chinese vessels and those of international organizations shipping humanitarian goods passing through the gulf and waters off Somalia, a report by China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.
    China sent its first three-ship escort force last December after around 20 percent of Chinese merchant ships passing the coast of Somalia were attacked by pirates between January and November, the report said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register