KENYA: Somali pirates jailed for seven years each

Ten Somalis detained by the U.S. Navy off the coast of Somalia and convicted of piracy by a Kenyan court were jailed for seven years on Wednesday (November 1). U.S. sailors boarded a ship in January in waters off the Somali capital Mogadishu carrying the 10 Somalis along with 16 Indians, believed to be hostages. The Somalis denied any wrongdoing after being handed over to authorities in neighbouring Kenya, saying they were stranded fishermen who boarded the Indian-owned ship seeking refuge. But last week a Kenyan court found them guilty of piracy. Defence lawyer Hassan Abdi said he would appeal, asking whether a magistrate in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa had the right to try a crime committed in international waters. "This being the first case of this nature, it's important to wait - in my view - the decisions of the higher court, especially on the issue of jurisdiction because this is a precedent setting case," he said. The conviction had carried a maximum of life imprisonment. Piracy is endemic in Somali waters but increased foreign patrols and an anti-piracy stance by Mogadishu's Islamists, who control a swathe of the south, have stemmed attacks.

ITN Source | November 2, 2006

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