ARUNA GULCAY

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Seychelles Convicts Nine Somali Pirates Compensated by Denmark

The Seychelles Supreme Court has convicted nine Somali nationals of committing acts of piracy who were previously released and paid compensation by Denmark over a delay in being presented before a judge after their capture. The nine Somalis, including one minor, were found guilty of three different counts of piracy stemming from two seperate attacks on a Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker and the Danish ship MV Torm Kansas off the coast of Somalia in November 2013. Following the attacks, the suspected pirates were captured aboard their mothership by a Danish Navy ship and brought to Seychelles for prosecution. According to the Seychelles News Agency, a judge rejected the defenses argument that the nine accused were just fishermen. The judge also rejected the claims that suspects had been detained and tried by the state of Denmark for piracy against the Torm Kansas, for which they were released and promised compensation. http://gcaptain.com/seychelles-convicts-nine-somali-pirates-compensated-denmark/

Denmark to Pay Damages to Suspected Somali Pirates

(Reuters) – Denmark has compensated nine Somalis suspected of trying to hijack a Danish ship in 2013 because they were detained too long before being brought before a judge, the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday. Each defendant received 19,600 Danish crowns ($3,247) for the 13 days they were detained, a spokesman from the prosecutor in Copenhagen said. Official Somali figures show 43 percent of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. The nine Somalis were charged with piracy after an attempt to hijack the tanker vessel Torm Kansas, which had been chartered by shipping company Torm, in the western Indian Ocean on Nov 10, 2013. Danish Navy support ship Esben Snarre seized the nine suspected pirates on the high seas after the unsuccessful hijacking and held them for 13 days before they were brought before a judge via a video link. He found them not guilty. According to Danish law, a citizen cannot be held in custody for more than 24 hours without being brought before a judge. The compensation was unrelated to the suspects’ innocence.

Alleged Somali pirates taken to Seychelles for trial

Nine alleged Somali pirates arrested by the Danish navy in early November have been transferred to the Seychelles for trial, police in the archipelago nation said Sunday. The Seychelles national police force said authorities in the Indian Ocean country had agreed to accept the transfer of the nine suspected pirates after they were captured on the high seas by the Danish navy, which was taking part in the European Union's Atalanta anti-piracy operations. The suspected pirates were arrested after attacking a Danish ship, the Torm Kansas, on Nov 9, the police statement said. "M/V Torm Kansas retaliated, managed to repel their attacks and solicited back-up from their base to arrest the attackers," it said. Investigations indicate the same group also attacked the Hong Kong-flagged Zhongji No1 on Nov 6 but were fought off by armed security officers on board, it added