Denmark Delivers Four Somali Pirates

Seychelles is, after all, receiving some of the pirates whom the Danish warship Absalon took captive during an operation on 7 January. In all, the islands in the Indian Ocean have agreed to receive four out of a total of 25 pirates who have been in captivity on the Absalon since the liberation operation. In this, Danish frogmen came to the rescue of 14 Iranian and Pakistani hostages on board the Iranian pirate mother ship Tahiri. The 14 had been captives since November 2011. "We are continuing the efforts to assign the remaining 21 suspected pirates on board the Absalon to other countries in the region, with a view to prosecution," Foreign Minister Villy Sovndal (Socialist People's Party) says in a written statement to Politiken.dk. In spite of intense diplomatic efforts on Denmark's part, it so happens that Seychelles refused to prosecute the group of pirates slightly less than two weeks ago, because the archipelago did not have the prison capacity. Of all the inmates in the of Seychelles, 14 percent are Somali pirates. Yet now Seychelles has changed its mind, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. In the same instance, the archipelago has in fact agreed to prosecute 14 pirates in detention on a British warship. The country has agreed to prosecute the pirates in the expectation that, in the not too distant future, they, along with other pirates serving time on the archipelago, can undergo transportation for imprisonment in their homeland, Somalia, in the autonomous region of Somaliland. "We must understand that the countries consenting to prosecute pirates do not necessarily have the capacity to take care of their imprisonment as well. We therefore support the development of prison capacity in Somalia too, so that, in time, the convicted Somali pirates can undergo transportation for imprisonment there," Sovndal proclaims. Are Handing Over 'the Hard Core' According to accounts from the crew of the Tahiri, the four who will undergo prosecution in Seychelles took part in the Iranian mother ship's initial hijacking. It is they against whom there is the strongest evidence. Military police and lawyers have also compiled cases against the 21 pirates still in detention aboard the warship Absalon. Yet, out of consideration for the negotiations, the Foreign Ministry will not say how long the process of finding countries ready to prosecute the others will be. Experience indicates that possible candidate countries are Kenya and Mauritius. "The bundles of evidence for the remaining 21 are not identical. At the moment, we are primarily trying to secure the assignment of those in detention, who constitute the 'hard core' and against whom the evidence is strongest," the foreign minister proclaims. May End in Putting Ashore He emphasizes, however, that it may be necessary to put all or some of the 21 remaining pirates ashore on the coast of Somalia if "customers" cannot be found. "That would not be any failure. It would not, of course, change the fact that 14 hostages had been freed and 25 pirates taken out of the game. Prosecution is quite central but the commitment to deter, ward off and disarm is, of course, particularly helpful too," Sovndal proclaims. "Then again, we must accept that, if we are to follow 'the path of the law,' we must do it properly. Among other things, this means that the evidence must stand up and that we must sometimes accept that not every detainee can undergo prosecution," the minister says. Time for Prosecution Is Running Out In quite specific terms, the Absalon will leave Seychelles today, after which the four captives, the relevant witness accounts and evidence will be consigned to the local police. Thereafter the archipelago will be responsible for the pirates. The remaining 21 will continue to proceed with the Absalon. How long they can undergo detention without court proceedings is a legal grey area but Denmark met with criticism from a Dutch court in 2010 for holding five pirates captive too long. On that occasion the pirates had undergone detention in cells on the Absalon for five weeks. The 21 currently in detention have been on board for three weeks.

At the moment, more than 1,000 pirates are undergoing prosecution or have received their penalties in more than 20 countries around the world, the Foreign Ministry reports. International Pirate Hunt

The number of piracy attacks has risen sharply in East Africa. Among the Somali sea bandits' Danish victims are a Danish sailing family of two adults and three children along with two crew members. They were released after almost half a year's captivity.

(Politiken)