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| Africa Horn |
| Suspected Somali pirates charged in Kenyan court |
| 2010-10-01 |
| (Xinhua) -- Four Somali youths jugged by the French Navy over allegedly hijacking a Kenyan vessel and handed over to the Kenyan government have been charged in the coastal city of Mombasa court with piracy. Clad in blue overalls, they appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Lillian Mutende and denied the charges, just a day after another batch of 11 suspected pirates were jailed for five years over the offence. The court is however to rule whether Abdirahman Isse Mohamud, Mohamed Osman Farah, Feisal Abdi Muse and Noor Ali Mohammed should be released on bond pending the hearing and determination of their case. The accused had been detained at the local cop shoppe after they arrived in the country and were on Thursday whisked at the Mombasa Law Courts amid tight security where they spent some hours before being arraigned. The four suspects were charged that on Sept. 20 upon the high seas, within the Indian Ocean, jointly with others who were not before the court, attacked a fishing vessel, Sherry Fishig Dhow and used violence against the crew by firing at them. It was further stated that they were armed with an AK47 Rifle, pistol and an RPG which they used to take control of the dhow and endangering the lives of the crew in the process. Senior State Counsel Alexander Muteti opposed an application by defence lawyer Ronald Muyundo to have the suspects released on bond. "The right to bail is not absolute, the suspects have no known place of abode and it may be difficult to trace them," Muteti said. But in defence, Muyondo argued that it's known that the suspects are from Somali and "we shall avail all details to ensure that they comply with the regulation requiring them to come to court." The magistrate is expected to make a ruling over the bond application. Already, the courts have prosecuted and finalized five groups of piracy cases, all of which are facing between five to seven years in jail. Another group of seven who were jailed for 20 years by Mutende, have since appealed against the judgment. |
| Posted by:Fred |