France Jails Five Somali Pirates

France Jails Five Somali Pirates

(RTTNews) - A court in Paris on Wednesday handed down four to eight years' prison-terms to five Somali men after finding them guilty of hijacking a yacht in the Gulf of Aden three years ago and holding its owners, a French couple, hostage for ransom.

The court, however, acquitted one Somali. All the six defendants, aged 21 to 36 years, were accused of hijacking the yacht, kidnapping its owners for ransom and armed robbery. Their trial marked the first prosecution of suspected Somali pirates in France.

The defendants had earlier described themselves as fishermen forced into piracy because of poverty. In earlier hearings, the prosecution had demanded prison terms ranging from six to sixteen years for the accused.

The six Somalis were accused of attacking and hijacking the yacht 'Carre d'As' in September, 2008 and demanding a ransom of $2 million for the release of its owners, French couple Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne. The couple, both aged 60 and currently living in French Polynesia, were sailing to France from Australia when their yacht was hijacked by the defendants in the Gulf of Aden.

The French couple and their yacht were freed by French Special Forces a couple of weeks later in a military operation that resulted in the death of one suspected pirate. The leader of the pirate group, however, escaped.

Somalia's coastline, particularly the Gulf of Aden, has been infested with piracy in recent years. Pirates are presently believed to be holding at least ten ships and more than 240 hostages. The incidents mostly end with payment of ransom after lengthy negotiations, but generally without any fatalities.

Pirate attacks off the Somali coast and in the Indian Ocean continue despite the presence of several warships deployed by Navies of the NATO, the European Union, Russia, China, South Korea and India to protect cargo and cruise ships against piracy.

The pirates have recently extended their operations deep into the Indian Ocean to avoid interception by international anti-piracy forces conducting regular patrols in the Gulf of Aden, off the Somali coast and parts of the Indian Ocean.

The pirates detained in international operations off the African coast were initially tried in Kenya, which neighbors Somalia. The move to try the suspected pirates in other nations came after Kenya indicated plans to stop such trials, being overloaded with pirate cases from Somalia.

Kenya shares its southern border with Somalia, whose coastline has been infested with piracy in recent years. Somalia has been without a functioning government since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre's government in 1991.

by RTT Staff Writer