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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Jail sentence for Somali pirates |
| 2006-11-01 |
| Ten Somalis have been sentenced to seven years in jail for piracy and hijacking by a Kenyan court. The men were arrested earlier this year by the US Navy which responded to a reported hijack off the Somali coast. The pirates had maintained they were fisherman and had not held 16 crew members of an Indian ship for ransom. No, they were passengers on our tramp freighter service. Silence fell as the accused walked into the dock, sat down with bowed heads and began praying in low tones. The prosecution had urged the court to hand down life sentences as provided for under Kenyan law. Immediately after the sentence was read out, the men clapped their hands and their faces brightened, our correspondent says. Allan Ahkbars and high fives all 'round! But their lawyer says he will appeal against the seven-year terms, arguing that some of those convicted are minors. When the case opened in February, the suspects said they were fishermen and did not know why they had been "abducted" from their fishing boat. We thought we were in training to be Pilots. But we're such a shy lot we never questioned our orders. But Indian sailors identified the men, who were caught by the US Navy in international waters, and said they had been tortured by them. The pirates had demanded a ransom of $50,000 for their release. The rescued Indian vessel was brought to Mombasa because it was the nearest port. It is not at all clear who was tortured by whom but what can you expect from the BBC these days? Somalia has been in the grip of warlords and militias for years and has not had a functioning national government since 1991. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) has consolidated its control over much of southern Somalia after seizing the capital, Mogadishu. The UIC was set up by businessmen who wanted to impose law and order, and their gunmen have become Somalia's strongest fighting force Yes, the Better Business Bureau that's what the UIC is like. Sort of your average American Rotarians we are. The decline in piracy has also been attributed to foreign navy patrols. But we at the BBC know that it is really due to the upstanding entrepreneurs of the Somaly coast. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #5 No barnacles, DanNY. Anti-fouling paint took all the fun out of keel hauling. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2006-11-01 23:24 |
| #4 the ships got too long :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-01 22:53 |
| #3 Geez, what ever happened to keel haulin'? Just Askin's all |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-11-01 22:48 |
| #2 Bonus points for the Gilbert and Sullivan reference. I have been wondering what was going on with piracy or the lack thereof off East Africa. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2006-11-01 22:24 |
| #1 7 years in a Kenyan prison for Somalis should be fun, especially for the precocious lil minors...f*ckers. Expect 2, maybe, to make it out alive and still manly? That's 2 too many |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-01 21:33 |