Shabbily dressed and solemn, 18 Somali men nabbed at sea and hauled ashore by European navies crowded into a Mombasa courthouse to face
Pirates charges that could put them behind bars for life.Kenya appeared to be ramping up prosecutions amid talk of establishing an international piracy tribunal in the country that borders Somalia, the lawless epicentre of a flourishing pirate industry off the Horn of Africa.The hearings came as a US court this week brought its first piracy charges in over a century, charging a skinny Somali teenager with attacking the American cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama.At the hearing in Mombasa, 11 Somali men wore faded sarongs
, old jackets and cheap sandals. Two had no shoes. All had solemn expressions.It was the first court appearance for the men tracked down by French commandos and seized April 14 in a pre-dawn raid as they ate breakfast in their skiffs in waters off Somalia. The pirate suspects had been marched off a French frigate Wednesday and handed over to authorities in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.The French had also handed over the pirates' captured equipment: two skiffs, three grappling hooks, four rusty assault rifles, two bags of bullets and a ladder.Magistrate Catherine Mwangi adjourned their case until a bail hearing May 27. They will remain in a Mombasa jail until then. She also demanded that officials give the men fresh clothing for their bail hearing."I'm giving you an order that these people be dressed properly," Mwangi told court officials.Next door, seven other suspected pirates listened to witnesses testify against them. German sailors had captured the men in late March after they reportedly attacked a German naval supply ship.Kenya is also holding another trial currently involving pirate suspects handed over by Britain.In other efforts to stamp out piracy in Somalia, which has not had an effective central government since 1991, donors at a conference in Brussels pledged over US$250 million Thursday to improve the country's internal security...more..
http://www.3news.co.nz/18-Somalis-in-court-as-Kenya-holds-pirate-trials/tabid/209/articleID/100984/Default.aspx?ArticleID=100984
Shabbily dressed and solemn, 18 Somali men nabbed at sea and hauled ashore by European navies crowded into a Mombasa courthouse to face Pirates charges that could put them behind bars for life.Kenya appeared to be ramping up prosecutions amid talk of establishing an international piracy tribunal in the country that borders Somalia, the lawless epicentre of a flourishing pirate industry off the Horn of Africa.The hearings came as a US court this week brought its first piracy charges in over a century, charging a skinny Somali teenager with attacking the American cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama.At the hearing in Mombasa, 11 Somali men wore faded sarongs
, old jackets and cheap sandals. Two had no shoes. All had solemn expressions.It was the first court appearance for the men tracked down by French commandos and seized April 14 in a pre-dawn raid as they ate breakfast in their skiffs in waters off Somalia. The pirate suspects had been marched off a French frigate Wednesday and handed over to authorities in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.The French had also handed over the pirates' captured equipment: two skiffs, three grappling hooks, four rusty assault rifles, two bags of bullets and a ladder.Magistrate Catherine Mwangi adjourned their case until a bail hearing May 27. They will remain in a Mombasa jail until then. She also demanded that officials give the men fresh clothing for their bail hearing."I'm giving you an order that these people be dressed properly," Mwangi told court officials.Next door, seven other suspected pirates listened to witnesses testify against them. German sailors had captured the men in late March after they reportedly attacked a German naval supply ship.Kenya is also holding another trial currently involving pirate suspects handed over by Britain.In other efforts to stamp out piracy in Somalia, which has not had an effective central government since 1991, donors at a conference in Brussels pledged over US$250 million Thursday to improve the country's internal security...more..http://www.3news.co.nz/18-Somalis-in-court-as-Kenya-holds-pirate-trials/tabid/209/articleID/100984/Default.aspx?ArticleID=100984
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