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Seven Somali 'pirates' to be tried in Kenya
Mombasa -- Seven Somalis accused of firing on a German ship off the coast of Yemen have been handed over to authorities in Kenya where they will be tried, officials said.The men will appear before a judge for a preliminary hearing on Thursday morning, Germany's foreign ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner told a regular briefing, after a German court issued arrest warrants earlier Wednesday. "This morning (Wednesday) Kenyan prosecutors agreed in principle to take in the seven suspected pirates," Ploetner said. The police commander of Kenya's Mombasa port, Ayub Gitonga, said: "We shall take them to court tomorrow to charge them with piracy, but we are still doing more investigation." The seven were picked up late last month by Greek and Spanish forces from a European anti-pirate unit off Somalia after they reportedly tried to capture a German oil tanker, the FGS Spessart, off southern Yemen. The group was then transferred to a German frigate, which arrived in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa with the men shortly after 1030 GMT on Wednesday, Ploetner said. Kenyan police were on board the vessel to review the evidence against the suspects, he added. The case of the seven men has highlighted the legal complexities arising from incidents in international waters.
Posted by: Seafarious 2009-04-09 |
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