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| Africa Horn |
| Russian sailors release Somali pirates |
| 2010-05-06 |
| Russian naval task force sailors released on Thursday the Somali pirates detained after a mission to free the Moscow University tanker, a Defense Ministry source told RIA Novosti. "Unfortunately, at present there exist no legal rules for prosecuting in court the pirates operating in the region of Somali," the source said. "This means they do not fall under the jurisdiction of any state or international law." Commandos from the large anti-submarine warship Marshal Shaposhnikov freed the tanker earlier on Thursday in a 22-minute operation that saw one pirate shot dead. The vessel, on its way from the Red Sea to China, was seized on Wednesday. The source added that after the pirates had been disarmed and their navigation equipment removed, they were "put into an inflatable boat" and pushed off into the sea. The news comes shortly after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had pledged to punish pirates who seize vessels off the Somali coast. "What is the problem? We are all aware of this evil and cannot agree on how to fight it," Medvedev told Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. "We will have to act as our forefathers did when they met pirates", the Russian president said. "Of course, we will fight pirates with the full force of naval law." He did not specify exactly how the pirates should be punished. Somali pirates carried out a record number of attacks and hijackings in 2009. According to the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center, a total of 217 vessels were attacked last year, resulting in 47 hijackings. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #10 bad cannibalism. Ever tried to clean a Somali? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-05-06 22:51 |
| #9 Maybe the Russkies are using them for bait? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-05-06 22:39 |
| #8 The boat WAS the bucket of chum. The Russians talked like Euros, but they took nav equipment and let them go. I would guess that they did not give any water or rations to the pirates. So, good luck t'ye and off they went. No food and water and you have-----------Survivorman, Somali style, heh. Very clever of the Russians. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2010-05-06 22:21 |
| #7 Was the boat towing a bucket of Chum too? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-05-06 22:13 |
| #6 The source added that after the pirates had been disarmed and their navigation equipment removed, they were "put into an inflatable boat" and pushed off into the sea. The kind of Russian kindness reserved for the truly deserving. Snicker. [Wondering if I am part Russian] |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-05-06 22:08 |
| #5 [drivel] |
| Posted by: jdqbwpgqoi 2010-05-06 21:38 |
| #4 "put into an inflatable boat" and pushed off into the sea ... 200NM from shore. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-05-06 20:41 |
| #3 A somewhat slow leak might be best - let them savor the end.....slowly... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-05-06 19:52 |
| #2 here is hoping the inflatable leaks... and not a particularly slow leak either. |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-05-06 19:51 |
| #1 The source added that after the pirates had been disarmed and their navigation equipment removed, they were "put into an inflatable boat" and pushed off into the sea Did they give them oars? |
| Posted by: john frum 2010-05-06 19:32 |