Some European Trials

The trial of the seven Somali men and three teenagers in Hamburg, Germany, finally come to end on Friday 19th October. They were all found guilty of 'attack on maritime traffic' and 'abduction for the purpose of blackmail' and sentenced to prison. The teenagers received sentences of two years and the adults sentences from six to seven years. 

As the time already spent in custody in Germany is taken into account for sentencing, the three teenagers do not have to return to prison (the three were released on bail in April).  Currently Germany does not deport people to Somalia, so the young men are able to stay in Hamburg.

The Hamburg trial was one of the longest in post-war Germany history - 104 days, and supposedly the first 'pirate' trial in over 400 years. It was reported on in great detail by the 'Reclaim the Seas' blog, a blog attempting to 'help make the voices of the accused heard'.

Many people argued the trial was an expensive piece of state propaganda playing with peoples' lives to justify Atalanta and Germany's role in it.

In the first days of the trial, defense lawyers issued a statement saying that "the real cause of piracy in the region was political unrest in Somalia and over-fishing of its waters by Western nations." (Spiegel Online) A further Speigel article described the case as an 'expensive farce'.

Meanwhile, in a much quicker trial lasting little more than a month - on 12th October, nine Somali men on trial in the Netherlands were convicted and sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment on charges of piracy. They were facing the possibility of life imprisonment but were found not guilty of attempted murder.

The nine men were were part of a group of 16 arrested on board an Iranian ship by Dutch marines in April 2011. Two other members of the group were killed when the Dutch boarded the ship.

The trial in Italy of nine men continues, but media reports are that it may be over before the end of the year. As reported earlier on this blog, the nine are facing not only piracy-related charges but also terrorism. The prosecution are trying to argue that the ransom money was intended for Al-Shabaab.

The four teenagers arrested at the same time as the nine men, were tried separately in a Rome juvenile court and in June were found guilty of attempted hi-jacking but not of terrorism. They were each sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Trials in Europe

In the first week of September nine men went on trial in the Netherlands, charged with piracy and attempted murder.They were the remainder of a group of 16 arrested in April 2011 after a gunfire battled with Dutch marines based on the warship Tromp. The Somali were supposedly on board an Iranian fishing vessel. Two Somali men were killed in the gun battle and buried at sea by the crew of the Tromp, seven released and the remaining nine were taken to the Netherlands.

The trial is expected to last less than a month, and if convicted the men face life imprisonment.

This is not the first courtcase in the Netherlands and it will not be the last.

The Netherlands has the dubious honour of being the first European country to try people for 'Somali' piracy - that was the trial of five men arrested in 2009, in June 2010 they were sentenced to five years imprisonment each. The next trial was in August 2011 of five men arrested in November 2010, they received sentences of between four and seven years. One of the people said he was only 13 years old; 'experts' put his age at between 14 and 15 years.

Meanwhile, the Dutch navy arrested another group of alleged Somali pirates last month in the Somalian coastal waters and the group are now in the process of being transported to Rotterdam for trial. (Another group, arrested in July by the Dutch navy, were taken to Oman for trial).

The trial in Italy of nine men is also continuing. The nine are facing not only piracy-related charges but also terrorism. The prosecution are trying to argue that the ransom money was intended for Al-Shabaab.

The four teenagers arrested at the same time as the nine men, were tried separately in a Rome juvenile court. The judge did not accept the charge of terrorism against the youth, but they were found guilty of attempted hi-jacking and were each sentenced to eight years in prison.

In Belgium, a man arrested on DNA evidence was sentenced in January this year to ten years imprisonment.

And in Germany, after a trial lasting nearly a hundred days of actual court appearances, the trial of ten people in Hamburg is nearing an end.

Netherlands Increases Role in OceanShield

On 2nd July, just weeks after the Netherlands increased its contribution to the NATO anti-piracy fleet, Operation Oceanshield, it has arrested more alleged pirates - and this time handed them over to Oman for prosecution. The seven people were arrested on 29th June when the Dutch navy freed a hi-jacked Omani-flagged dhow.

After the incident, the Dutch commander of Oceanshield, Commodore Ben Bekkering, is reported as saying, "...the joy on the faces of the freed crew in an equally beautiful picture as container ships arriving in Rotterdam." (Bekkering has a Facebook and Twitter account he updates regularly.)
In 2010, Bekkering was captain of one of the first reported incidents of overt patrolling of coastal villages in Somalia. It is alleged that using both landing craft and the warship, Bekkering patrolled close enough into the shore to be able to observe  the coast and villages, and to stop boats and ships leaving the habours.

Netherlands has only within the last two weeks increased significantly its involvement in Operation Oceanshield. In early June, the Dutch parliament voted to  spend US$16.5 million, this money is to provide: extra personnel, two Cougar helicopters, a drone and an additional submarine. In the same week, the parliament turned down a request from merchant ship owners to use private security for protection.

As to Atalanta,  the Dutch parliament declared it 'controversial' due to the mandate that allows Atalanta forces to attack coastal 'pirate' camps from the sea or land. Operation Oceanshield still does not have this mandate.

'Pirates' sentenced in Paris

On Wednesday, 30 November, five Somali men were sentenced in France to between four and eight years for hijacking a French yacht and taking the crew hostage in September 2008, three years ago. The five were originally part of a group of seven, however one man was killed at the time of the incident, and one other was acquited on Wednesday. He gets to return home, the other five continue their stay in French prisons.

During the week and a half trial (held in a Paris juvenile court as one of the defendents was under 18 when arrested) a psychiatrist gave evidence about the stress and difficulties the men were having being locked-up so far away from their homeland. Most of the men had had no contact with their families since their arrest. One man had set fire to his cell, the psychiatrist said that the best treatment would be for him to be back with his family in his cultural milieu.

This was the first modern piracy trial in France, however it will not be the last. There are currently 15 other Somali men and teenagers awaiting trial in three seperate piracy cases.

It is not the first piracy trial in Europe either.

In the Netherlands there has already been two trials. Five men, arrested in 2009 were sentenced in June 2010 to five years imprisonment. Five others, arrested in November 2010 were sentenced in August 2011 to terms ranging from four to seven years. 14 other men are currently on trial in two seperate court cases.

In Belgium one man has been on trial since May 2010. He was arrested in November 2009 on the basis of DNA evidence.

There have been ten men on trial in Germany since November 2010, they were arrested in April 2010. Their case is also been held in a juvenile court as three of the defendents were teenagers when arrested, one was younger than 14.

In Spain two men were arrested in October 2009 and sentenced to 439 years each in May 2011.