Malaysia puts 7 Somali pirates on trial
Source: Agencies |
February 12, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
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SEVEN Somali pirates were charged with firearms offences in a Malaysian court yesterday.
If found guilty in the first prosecution of Somali pirates by an Asian country, some face being hanged.
The pirates - three of whom are just 15 years old - were captured in January by Malaysian commandos after they attempted to hijack a Malaysian-owned chemicals tanker.
They seven did not enter a plea after the charges were read out in a court in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Prosecutor Mohamed Aba Zafree said the 15-year-olds would not face the death penalty as they were minors.
Pirate attacks hit a seven-year high in 2010, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau which collates statistics on attacks, disrupting shipping lanes at a time when the price of raw materials has moved sharply higher.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have hijacked vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden for years, making millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships, including oil tankers, despite the presence of dozens of foreign naval vessels.
There were 445 actual and attempted attacks on ships around the world last year, equal to the last peak in 2003, the International Maritime Bureau said.
South Korea recently arrested five pirates over the hijacking of a chemicals ship in the Arabian Sea but has yet to charge them.
Naval forces in the Gulf of Aden have been beefed up to counter the pirate threat.
If found guilty in the first prosecution of Somali pirates by an Asian country, some face being hanged.
The pirates - three of whom are just 15 years old - were captured in January by Malaysian commandos after they attempted to hijack a Malaysian-owned chemicals tanker.
They seven did not enter a plea after the charges were read out in a court in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Prosecutor Mohamed Aba Zafree said the 15-year-olds would not face the death penalty as they were minors.
Pirate attacks hit a seven-year high in 2010, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau which collates statistics on attacks, disrupting shipping lanes at a time when the price of raw materials has moved sharply higher.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have hijacked vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden for years, making millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships, including oil tankers, despite the presence of dozens of foreign naval vessels.
There were 445 actual and attempted attacks on ships around the world last year, equal to the last peak in 2003, the International Maritime Bureau said.
South Korea recently arrested five pirates over the hijacking of a chemicals ship in the Arabian Sea but has yet to charge them.
Naval forces in the Gulf of Aden have been beefed up to counter the pirate threat.
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