Conference and Arrests

At the end of October the six men on trial in Spain were convicted of piracy related charges, and at the beginning of November another trial began in the USA. There was also the arrest in Belgium of Mohamed Abdi Hassan (also known as "Afweyne" or Big Mouth). Hassan was arrested at the Brussels airport on 12th October after been invited to Belgium on the ruse of becoming an advisor on a film about piracy around the Horn of Africa. Others who may be involved with piracy have also recently been invited to Belgium but there will be no actual trial of them, they are attending a conference hosted by Environmental Justice Foundation on illegal fishing. Pirate fishing around the Horn of Africa is a key focus at the November conference and countries that are criticised as not taken action against IUUs (or 'pirate' vessels) are attending. 

Spain, in publicity about the conference, is listed as one of those countries, however it was in Spain that the six men were sentenced just under a month ago - one man to 12-and-a-half years in prison and the other five to eight years in jail each. The men have been in Spain awaiting trial since October 2012 so have already served one year. In 2011 two men convicted of piracy by a Spanish court received sentences of 439 years each.

The trial in the US is of a former Washington DC resident, Ali Mohamed Ali, who is charged with helping Somali pirates who seized a Danish cargo vessel in November 2008. His defence is that he was actually working for the US as an intelligence source. Ali is charged with piracy, conspiracy, attacking a vessel and hostage-taking, and faces life in prison if convicted. He has been held in jail for two and a half years. Another person, Mohammad Saaili Shibin, charged in the American courts with negotiating was convicted in August 2012 and sentenced to "10 concurrent life sentences...two consecutive life sentences...10 years consecutive...and two 20-year sentences... and is also required to pay restitution in the amount of approximately $5,408,000US."

The event promises to offer a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$ 10 to 23.5 billion and represents between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish. - See more at: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/21697/landmark-event-encourages-eu-member-states-to-take-stronger-action-on-illegal-fishing#sthash.mqxrp5QY.dpuf

Publicity about the Environmental Justice Foundation says the conference will involved 'a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$ 10 to 23.5 billion and represents between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish'.

The event promises to offer a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$ 10 to 23.5 billion and represents between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish. - See more at: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/21697/landmark-event-encourages-eu-member-states-to-take-stronger-action-on-illegal-fishing#sthash.mqxrp5QY.dpuf

More 'Pirates' Tried

In the last months of 2012, six Somali men were taken to Spain to be tried on charges of piracy. The six were captured by the flagship of Operation OceanShield after allegedly trying to cease a Spanish tuna fishing vessel in the last weeks of October.

Two Somali men accused of piracy have already been found guilty in Spain and each received sentences of 439 years in a courtcase in May 2011.

In Malaysia, seven Somali men facing charges that carried the death penalty have been offered a plea bargain. The men were arrested in January 2011 and charged with 'firing at the Malaysian armed forces while committing a robbery' - an offence that carries the death penalty. The men have been given the option of pleading guilty to the lesser charge of 'using a weapon with the intention of preventing their arrest', a charge that carries 'only' a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

In the Seychelles three men were sentenced to 21 years each and a fourth to 14 years on piracy charges. The men were arrested by a Danish warship after they allegedly held an Iranian ship. Denmark has an agreement with both Kenya and the Seychelles that allows pirates arrested by Danish forces to be tried in either of those countries.

In Madagascar, thirteen men and one youth who were arrested in March 2011 appeared in court in November 2012 and the men received sentences of five years hard labour, the young person was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and released on bail.

New Trials in Europe

Two new trials recently started up in Europe.

A trial began in Paris on 22 May six men arrested in in Somalia in 2008 over the hijacking of the French ship, Le Ponant. If convicted, the men could be sentenced to life.

The men were arrested four years ago, a week after the alleged hi-jacking, by French paratroopers. Using a helicopter, the paratroopers stopped the taxi the alleged pirates were travelling in. The men have been in French custody since.

Only one of the people in the taxi allegedly admitted to being a pirate - the others have all denied the claim.

There are currently 22 Somali people arrested in connection with piracy, in French prisons.

The other trial beginning in Europe was another Spanish one. Six men appeared in court on 24 May charged with kidnapping after allegedly trying to attack the Atalanta Flagship, Patina, in January this year. (More about this incident can be read here.)

If convicted, the men will face sentences of between 893 to 1,122 years in prison.

First Official Attack On-Land by Atalanta

Within the last few days, the EU finally agreed to attacking alleged Somali pirates on land and on 15th May, were the first air attacks since the ambit of Atalanta was widened. It has been reported that speed boats, step ladders, fishing nets and mobile phones were destroyed.

In a press statement, the Mission Head of Atalanta said that air attacks were launched to destroy pirates’ supplies on land. He stated that, "Whilst assessment is on-going, surveillance of the area during the action indicates that no Somalis were injured ashore as a result of EU action."

In March EU Ministers extended Operation Atalanta until December 2014 and spoke about wanting to extend Atalanta's "area of operations to include Somali coastal territory as well as its territorial and internal waters".

Initially Austria, Spain and Germany described this as 'mission creep', but last week all countries finally agreed to what they said is a 'temporary mandate'. A special mandate had to be passed through the German parliament for this to happen.

The 'EUNAVFOR – Operation Atalanta: Disruption of pirates’ logistics in Somalia' can be read here.

The result was today's first official land-based attack.

Sitting in Prison

Six Somali men arrested off the coast of Somalia on January 12th are now sitting in prison in Spain after allegedly attacking the Atalanta Flagship, Patina. (Spain is currently leading Atalanta, having replaced Germany in December 2011).  The men say they are fishermen and that one of their group was killed by the Spanish military.

The charges they face include attempted piracy and disobeying a warship. No trial date has yet been set.

Meanwhile in Hamburg, Germany, the prosecution has rested its case and called for sentences ranging from seven to eleven years for the adult men on trial and  between four and five and a half years for the under-age defendants. The court case is set to continue until the end of March.

And in Belgium, the Brussels Court of Appeal upheld the sentence of ten years given in July last year against the one person on trial there. He had been arrested in November 2009 on the basis of DNA evidence held in the Interpol collection. The collection of DNA samples of suspected Somali "pirates" was officially established in mid-2010 after an anti-pirate conference in South Korea.

Many northern Hemisphere and western countries oppose the collection of DNA samples from their own  population, but allow their own navies and military to build databases of Somali people in Africa and their border agencies to build databases of refugees and people seeking asylum.

'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.