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.
Showing posts with label sentence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sentence. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Sunday, October 28, 2012
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.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
USA Re-defines Piracy
The US Court of Appeal has held that unsuccessful attacks on boats is piracy.
On May 23rd the US Court of Appeal upheld sentences of life + 80 years imprisonment for five Somali men convicted in November 2010 of piracy against a US navy frigate; the court also sent another case back to a lower court to be retried.
It is alleged that the five men sentenced to life plus 80 years had, in April 2010, fired at the USS Nicholas, a warship that had been disguised as a merchant ship. The Somali men had been captured and transported to the US where they had been tried for piracy, found guilty and sentenced. At the same time, there had been another court case with very similar circumstances and even in the same month: in April 2010 a group of Somali men had approached but not boarded the USS Ashland. The men were captured and taken to the US for trial. One man plead guilty and was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, the others had piracy charges against them dismissed as the men had not taken control of or robbed the ship. The US Court of Appeal sent that case back to the lower court for further proceedings.
Thus it is now clear in US law that piracy does not have to actually involve boarding or robbing a vessel, piracy can be a threat of an attack.
In the meantime, prosecution continue to say that they want the death penalty for the remaining three Somali men still awaiting trial for the hi-jacking of the US yacht Quest in February 2011. During that incidence, the four Americans on board the boat were killed.
On May 23rd the US Court of Appeal upheld sentences of life + 80 years imprisonment for five Somali men convicted in November 2010 of piracy against a US navy frigate; the court also sent another case back to a lower court to be retried.
It is alleged that the five men sentenced to life plus 80 years had, in April 2010, fired at the USS Nicholas, a warship that had been disguised as a merchant ship. The Somali men had been captured and transported to the US where they had been tried for piracy, found guilty and sentenced. At the same time, there had been another court case with very similar circumstances and even in the same month: in April 2010 a group of Somali men had approached but not boarded the USS Ashland. The men were captured and taken to the US for trial. One man plead guilty and was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, the others had piracy charges against them dismissed as the men had not taken control of or robbed the ship. The US Court of Appeal sent that case back to the lower court for further proceedings.
Thus it is now clear in US law that piracy does not have to actually involve boarding or robbing a vessel, piracy can be a threat of an attack.
In the meantime, prosecution continue to say that they want the death penalty for the remaining three Somali men still awaiting trial for the hi-jacking of the US yacht Quest in February 2011. During that incidence, the four Americans on board the boat were killed.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Life in Abu Dhabi
Ten Somali people accused of piracy were sentenced to 25 years each on Tuesday 22 May for the hi-jacking of a UAE ship on 1st April last year.
The ship was travelling from Australia to Jelel Ali with a load of aluminium when it was hi-jacked and held for one day before a US warship, one of the CTF151 ships boarded the ship and arrested the Somali people on board.
The court ruled that the men would all be deported to Somalia after they had served their sentence.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Acquitted in France
On 30 November five Somali men were sentenced in France to between four and eight years for hi-jacking a French yacht in 2008. One man was acquitted. Prosecutors have appealed and that means that the acquitted man, the father of a now seven year-old boy, must stay in France in a state of limbo. The new court case could be up to nine months away.
On the day he was acquitted, the prison, where he had been remanded, called the court translator to come and collect him - there was no one else there to support him and he was scared to leave the prison. He was finally released at night into the streets of Paris with only his prison earnings, and with no papers, no work permit and knowing only a few words of French. He was lucky he had the translator to help him.
He had arrived, hooded and hand-cuffed, in France three years earlier. The only glimpses of France he had were from his cell window and during transportation to and from the court case. He says that he "guessed it was a country where there was light everywhere, a fertile country where it rained all the time." He said that on television he watched football and managed to learn a few words of French.
On release, three years after he was arrested, he still has the scars from the handcuffs and the memory that on that day the man next to him was shot dead by the French troops.
Now he has applied for asylum and must wait for another courtcase.
On the day he was acquitted, the prison, where he had been remanded, called the court translator to come and collect him - there was no one else there to support him and he was scared to leave the prison. He was finally released at night into the streets of Paris with only his prison earnings, and with no papers, no work permit and knowing only a few words of French. He was lucky he had the translator to help him.
He had arrived, hooded and hand-cuffed, in France three years earlier. The only glimpses of France he had were from his cell window and during transportation to and from the court case. He says that he "guessed it was a country where there was light everywhere, a fertile country where it rained all the time." He said that on television he watched football and managed to learn a few words of French.
On release, three years after he was arrested, he still has the scars from the handcuffs and the memory that on that day the man next to him was shot dead by the French troops.
Now he has applied for asylum and must wait for another courtcase.
Monday, December 26, 2011
South Korea Up-date
South Korea announced in the week before Christmas that it has extended its anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia for one more year. Cheonghae, the name of the mission, was the first ever over-seas deployment of South Korean navy forces.
It is also interesting to note that one of Cheonghae's first roles in May 2009 involved the 'rescuing' of a North Korean ship. It is also interesting that despite the growing tensions in the South China Sea and the accusations by South Korea that China is aiding piracy there, China and South Korea continue to work together in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
And in the same week that the mission was extended, the South Korean Supreme Court heard the appeal against sentencing by a group of Somali men. The five were convicted of hi-jacking a South Korean ship in January 2011, one man was sentenced to life and the other four were sentenced to between 12 to 15 years each. The appeal was denied and the sentences were upheld.
It would have been an interesting court case, the South Korean courts were unable to find a Somali / Korean translator - instead there were four translators: one Somali (Somali/English), two Koreans (English/Korean) and one Korean University Professor to translate Arabian into Korean.
It is also interesting to note that one of Cheonghae's first roles in May 2009 involved the 'rescuing' of a North Korean ship. It is also interesting that despite the growing tensions in the South China Sea and the accusations by South Korea that China is aiding piracy there, China and South Korea continue to work together in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
And in the same week that the mission was extended, the South Korean Supreme Court heard the appeal against sentencing by a group of Somali men. The five were convicted of hi-jacking a South Korean ship in January 2011, one man was sentenced to life and the other four were sentenced to between 12 to 15 years each. The appeal was denied and the sentences were upheld.
It would have been an interesting court case, the South Korean courts were unable to find a Somali / Korean translator - instead there were four translators: one Somali (Somali/English), two Koreans (English/Korean) and one Korean University Professor to translate Arabian into Korean.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Court cases continue
Nine Somali men have now been sentenced to life imprisonment in the USA for the hijacking of a US yacht in February 2011, two more men are yet to be sentenced and three are defending the charges. These three face the death penalty if convicted.
Those sentenced to prison have also been ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution.
Earlier this year, in May, the US courts sentenced Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, a 15-year old, to 33 years and nine months in prison. He was tried as an adult despite evidence that he was only a young teenager and despite the fact that the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, confirmed the group that Muse was part of were "untrained teenagers with heavy weapons." The other three teenagers in the group were killed by US snipers.
Muse is not the only teenager sentenced or facing trial in foreign lands. In the Netherlands one of the people sentenced there said he was only 13 years old, so-called expert tests put his age at between 14 and 15 years.
In Germany, ten Somali are being tried in a Hamburg juvenile court as three of the group are teenagers.
In Japan a teenager is to be tried in a youth court, the three others in the group will be tried as adults.
Those sentenced to prison have also been ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution.
Earlier this year, in May, the US courts sentenced Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, a 15-year old, to 33 years and nine months in prison. He was tried as an adult despite evidence that he was only a young teenager and despite the fact that the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, confirmed the group that Muse was part of were "untrained teenagers with heavy weapons." The other three teenagers in the group were killed by US snipers.
Muse is not the only teenager sentenced or facing trial in foreign lands. In the Netherlands one of the people sentenced there said he was only 13 years old, so-called expert tests put his age at between 14 and 15 years.
In Germany, ten Somali are being tried in a Hamburg juvenile court as three of the group are teenagers.
In Japan a teenager is to be tried in a youth court, the three others in the group will be tried as adults.
Friday, December 2, 2011
'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.
South Korea tries Somali men
In South Korea five Somali men were sentenced in May 2011 for their alleged part in hijacking a South Korean ship in January 2011. Four men were sentenced to between 12 and 15 years imprisonment and one man was given life. The five were originally part of a group of 13, but eight men were killed at the time of the arrest.
The man sentenced to life appealed his sentence, the sentence was upheld but now all five are appealing to the Supreme Court.
The man sentenced to life appealed his sentence, the sentence was upheld but now all five are appealing to the Supreme Court.
'Pirates' sentenced in the USA
The United States sentenced Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, a 15-year old, to nearly 34 years in prison in May 2011. He was arrested in May 2009, the sole survivor from a group of four alleged pirates, the others were killed by US navy sharp-shooters. All of them were under 20 years of age. Despite evidence from Somalia that Abdiwali was a juvenile, the US tried him as an adult.
Currently facing court is a man alleged to be a negotiator in two hijacking incidences. One incident involves a German yacht hijacked in May 2010. The other involves an American yacht with a crew of four, all four crew were killed and two alleged pirates also died.
A total of 14 men are currently facing charges in the US over the hijacking of this yacht. Six pleaded guilty to hijacking early and of these four have received life in prison and one other given a sentence of two concurrent life sentences. Five others later pleased guilty and are currently waiting to be sentenced to mandatory life, while three others are facing the death penalty if convicted.
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