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Spain to hand over Somali pirates to Kenya
Madrid (AFP) May 11, 2009 Fourteen Somali pirates held by the Spanish navy in the Indian Ocean are to be handed over to Kenyan authorities, its foreign minister said Monday, putting an end to a judicial row. Miguel Angel Moratinos said the group were being handed over "immediately to the Kenyan authorities in view of an agreement between Kenya and the European Union" in March to take suspected pirates detained by EU navies patrolling Somalia's waters and prosecute them in Kenyan courts. The decision was taken after National Court Judge Fernando Andreu agreed to a request by the head of the army, General Jose Julio Rodriguez, a defence ministry spokesman said earlier. The judge "is not blocking the landing of the detained in Kenya or anywhere else... meeting the operational and security conditions necessary" for handing them over, the spokesman added. A Spanish navy warship captured seven of the pirates in international waters in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday after their boat capsized when they were allegedly trying to board a Panamanian-flagged vessel. Andreu ordered the defence ministry to send them to Spain so they could be questioned under a new piracy law adopted last year after a Spanish trawler and its crew were held hostage by Somali pirates. On Friday, the judge bowed to prosecutors' requests and ordered their release, but argued that sending the suspects to Kenya to be prosecuted would violate their rights since an inquiry was already underway in Spain. The decision embarrassed the Spanish government, with Defence Minister Carme Chacon announcing she would oppose any move to free them. The same Spanish warship captured another seven suspects on Thursday as they appeared to be attempting to board a Maltese-flagged merchant ship. Spanish daily El Pais said Monday that the military had even informed the 14 that they would be dropped off in a zone "considered safe" off the Somali coast, but that for "security" reasons, they remained aboard. According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks off lawless Somalia increased tenfold in the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2008, jumping from six to 61. The EU naval mission, Atalanta, began operations last December in an effort to stop attacks in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest trade routes. Somali pirates are receiving intelligence on potential targets from informers in London, a Spanish radio station said Monday quoting a military report from an unnamed European country. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links 21st Century Pirates
Spanish judge orders release of seven suspected Somali piratesMadrid (AFP) May 8, 2009 A Spanish judge Friday ordered the release of seven suspected Somali pirates detained earlier this week by a Spanish warship after public prosecutors said they should be handed to Kenya instead of being brought to Spain for questioning. National Court judge Fernando Andreu, who opened a preliminary investigation into the seven on Thursday, argued that sending the suspects to Kenya to be pros ... read more |
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