Five suspected pirates have been transported to the Netherlands to stand trial in a Dutch court. The Somali nationals, aged between 20 and 30, are accused of hijacking the South African yacht Choizil off the coast of Tanzania on 7 November, the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The European Union anti-piracy task force in the area, which included the Dutch navy ship Amsterdam, rescued one South African from the yacht. Two other crew members were taken ashore as hostages. They are still missing and there is no new information on their status.

At a special session on board the Amsterdam off the Somali coast, following a preliminary investigation conducted by Dutch detectives, judges from a lower court in Rotterdam ordered the detention of the five suspects extended for 90 days. A total of 20 piracy suspects were arrested by the crew of the Amsterdam in November, but 15 were released because of insufficient evidence. A team of military police escorted the suspects on a flight to Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands, where they were taken into custody. The Public Prosecutor’s office refused to say where the Somalis are being held. 

International Crime
According to judge De Winkel, spokesperson for the Rotterdam lower court, foreign nationals can be prosecuted under Dutch criminal law, when piracy is involved. “They have been arrested on suspicion of committing an international crime. Because of the seriousness of this crime and the chance of recurrence, the court decided to extend their detention.” The prosecutors are building a case against the suspected pirates. They have been assigned Dutch lawyers.

“I would like to defend these suspects”, criminal lawyer Willem Jan Ausma tells Radio Netherlands Worldwide. “I have the expertise and experience; they are welcome to contact me!” Ausma defended one of the Somalis convicted in an earlier piracy case. “I don’t think my name is very well known on the Somali shores, but maybe they will learn about my firm in prison. That’s how I got involved with the other Somali suspects.”

On 17 June of this year, five other Somali pirates were sentenced to five years in prison. And according to Ausma, the Public Prosecutor’s office has learned a lot from that previous case. “Mistakes were made and my clients remained in preliminary custody much too long, without a court appearance. It seems they’re not so sloppy this time.”

Somalia lacks the legal infrastructure to stage trials and captured pirates are often released because of disagreements about which country should try them. Most of those who have been captured have been tried in Kenya or the Seychelles. A US court sentenced a Somali for piracy last month, and ten suspected Somali pirates have gone on trial in Hamburg, Germany.

Source: Reuters