Somalia: Maximum Sentence for Two Convicted Pirates

By Staff Writer

BARCELONA---A court in Spain has sentenced two Somali pirates to 439 years in prison each for their role in the 2009 hijacking of a Spanish fishing vessel. Under Spanish law however, they will serve only a maximum of 30 years in jail, regardless of the sentence.

The National Court on Tuesday found the two men, identified as Cabdiweli Cabdullahi and Raagegeesey Adji, guilty of 36 counts of illegal detention and robbery. They were acquitted of charges of terrorism and membership in an organized crime group. During the trial, the suspects said they had been fishing and were themselves seized by the pirates who later hijacked the vessel. The tuna boat MS Alakrana was seized along with its 36-member crew off the Somali coast in October 2009.  The boat and crew were held for 47 days. The two were captured by Spanish marines after sailing away from the boat they hijacked.

The Spanish government has neither confirmed nor denied media reports saying it paid more than $3 million dollars in ransom. BBC reports that the court said "public organizations linked to the Spanish government" had paid for the release of the crew. Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said the government did not pay ransoms.

The Horn of Africa nation has been without a functioning government since 1991, and remains one of the world's most violent and lawless countries.  Thus, due to this, there are several attacks that are carried out by increasingly well- coordinated Somali gangs armed with automatic weapons and rocket- propelled grenades. Piracy is a highly lucrative trade in Somalia, where gangs can often demand millions of dollars in ransoms. International naval patrols off Somalia's coast have had little success in stopping pirates from attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. The American Navy has pleaded with ship owners to stick to designated shipping lanes when passing through the Arabian Sea, where Somali pirates strike with impunity.