<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>So many pirates, no place for them
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>It's tough to prosecute suspects and find a place for them to go to after they serve their sentences </TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
Suspected pirates arrested by French marine commandos in January this year. Some countries are wary of hauling in pirates for trials for fear of being saddled with them after they serve their prison terms. -- PHOTO: AP
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Nairobi - Arresting Somali pirates may be the easy part. Foreign navies in the region have detained dozens of them, but the hard part is what to do with them afterwards.
Since piracy surged dramatically in late 2007 in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden - a vital short cut between Europe and Asia - the growing fleet of foreign warships in the area have detained scores of pirates in a bid to curb a scourge threatening world trade.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Search for solutions
'There are a lot of ideas being floated, such as a special piracy tribunal, but everyone is basically struggling to find out what the best way forward is.'
UN EXPERT STEFAN LILLER, who works with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Yesterday, even as pirates hijacked a Belgian-registered ship, Dutch commandos captured seven pirates who had attacked a Greek-managed tanker and taken 20 hostages. The latter were later freed.
The French navy alone has captured 71 suspected pirates so far. But only 15 of them, involved in the hijacking of French vessels, have been taken to France for trials. Most of the others were handed over to the authorities of the breakaway Somali state of Puntland, a major piracy hub.
In an operation a week ago to free the captain of a United States ship held hostage on a lifeboat, American naval forces shot dead three pirates and captured the fourth, who is to face charges in New York.
Whether they end up in France, Kenya, Puntland or the Netherlands - where five suspected pirates are facing trial - critics say the international legal framework is insufficient and the suspects' rights are not guaranteed. The Law of the Sea Convention gives foreign warships the right to prevent, deter and respond to acts of piracy, but it does not apply to territorial waters and inadequately addresses the issue of transfer ashore.
What happens now to captured pirates often depends on the nationalities of their victims and the navy that detained them.
French soldiers take pirates who have attacked French citizens to Paris; pirates who have attacked other nations are hauled to Kenya. India took 24 suspects to Yemen, since half of them were from there. The Dutch took five suspects to Rotterdam.
Among the difficulties facing prosecutors is assembling witnesses scattered across the globe and finding translators. Many countries are wary of hauling in pirates for trials for fear of being saddled with them after they serve their prison terms.
In a working document for a United Nations-sponsored conference in December, it was also pointed out that human rights were an issue, 'particularly the standard of treatment that a suspected pirate would experience both in custody and at trial'.
Some European nations dump detained pirates back into lawless Somalia, said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, International Maritime Bureau director.
Kenya, the only coastal nation to have dedicated agreements with major naval powers, is the most popular destination for suspected pirates. Many of them netted by the 20 or so foreign warships plying the region's seas are now taken to the country.
But diplomats privately fear that if every suspect is taken to Kenya, it could take years to prosecute them because of a backlog of 800,000 cases of all kinds in the country's courts. Some suspects must spend a year or more in jail just to get a hearing.
Kenya's Foreign Ministry said on Friday it is studying a proposal to establish a special tribunal but would likely expect richer countries to foot the bill.
'Nobody thinks that Kenya has a perfect legal system but Kenya is one of the few solutions. Nobody is willing to send suspects to Yemen, for example, where punishment for piracy is crucifixion,' said UN expert Stefan Liller, who works with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
'There are a lot of ideas being floated, such as a special piracy tribunal, but everyone is basically struggling to find out what the best way forward is.' AFP, AP
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>It's tough to prosecute suspects and find a place for them to go to after they serve their sentences </TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Suspected pirates arrested by French marine commandos in January this year. Some countries are wary of hauling in pirates for trials for fear of being saddled with them after they serve their prison terms. -- PHOTO: AP
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Nairobi - Arresting Somali pirates may be the easy part. Foreign navies in the region have detained dozens of them, but the hard part is what to do with them afterwards.
Since piracy surged dramatically in late 2007 in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden - a vital short cut between Europe and Asia - the growing fleet of foreign warships in the area have detained scores of pirates in a bid to curb a scourge threatening world trade.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Search for solutions
'There are a lot of ideas being floated, such as a special piracy tribunal, but everyone is basically struggling to find out what the best way forward is.'
UN EXPERT STEFAN LILLER, who works with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Yesterday, even as pirates hijacked a Belgian-registered ship, Dutch commandos captured seven pirates who had attacked a Greek-managed tanker and taken 20 hostages. The latter were later freed.
The French navy alone has captured 71 suspected pirates so far. But only 15 of them, involved in the hijacking of French vessels, have been taken to France for trials. Most of the others were handed over to the authorities of the breakaway Somali state of Puntland, a major piracy hub.
In an operation a week ago to free the captain of a United States ship held hostage on a lifeboat, American naval forces shot dead three pirates and captured the fourth, who is to face charges in New York.
Whether they end up in France, Kenya, Puntland or the Netherlands - where five suspected pirates are facing trial - critics say the international legal framework is insufficient and the suspects' rights are not guaranteed. The Law of the Sea Convention gives foreign warships the right to prevent, deter and respond to acts of piracy, but it does not apply to territorial waters and inadequately addresses the issue of transfer ashore.
What happens now to captured pirates often depends on the nationalities of their victims and the navy that detained them.
French soldiers take pirates who have attacked French citizens to Paris; pirates who have attacked other nations are hauled to Kenya. India took 24 suspects to Yemen, since half of them were from there. The Dutch took five suspects to Rotterdam.
Among the difficulties facing prosecutors is assembling witnesses scattered across the globe and finding translators. Many countries are wary of hauling in pirates for trials for fear of being saddled with them after they serve their prison terms.
In a working document for a United Nations-sponsored conference in December, it was also pointed out that human rights were an issue, 'particularly the standard of treatment that a suspected pirate would experience both in custody and at trial'.
Some European nations dump detained pirates back into lawless Somalia, said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, International Maritime Bureau director.
Kenya, the only coastal nation to have dedicated agreements with major naval powers, is the most popular destination for suspected pirates. Many of them netted by the 20 or so foreign warships plying the region's seas are now taken to the country.
But diplomats privately fear that if every suspect is taken to Kenya, it could take years to prosecute them because of a backlog of 800,000 cases of all kinds in the country's courts. Some suspects must spend a year or more in jail just to get a hearing.
Kenya's Foreign Ministry said on Friday it is studying a proposal to establish a special tribunal but would likely expect richer countries to foot the bill.
'Nobody thinks that Kenya has a perfect legal system but Kenya is one of the few solutions. Nobody is willing to send suspects to Yemen, for example, where punishment for piracy is crucifixion,' said UN expert Stefan Liller, who works with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
'There are a lot of ideas being floated, such as a special piracy tribunal, but everyone is basically struggling to find out what the best way forward is.' AFP, AP
