Kenya to charge Somali pirates
2006-02-03 16:22
Nairobi - Ten suspected Somali pirates captured by a United States warship in Somali waters last week are due to appear in court in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, pending a final decision on where they will be tried, says US on Friday.
The US guided missile destroyer USS Winston S Churchill captured the ten men off the Somali coast and brought to Kenya after the men hijacked the Indian vessel, MV Safina al-Birsarat, with 16-member crew.
The reports said US ambassador to Kenya said on Thursday that the Somali pirates could also be charged in India or at the US navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, but that it would be best if they were charged in Kenya.
The Indian crewmembers, who were in the custody of the Indian consulate in Kenya, told the US navy ship patrolling the area by writing "Help" on the side of the vessel.
Last year, about 35 boats had fallen victim to pirates off the Somali coast - considered to be the most dangerous in the world - with most of the vessels released after payment of a ransom.
Two ships carrying United Nations food aid, one destined for Somali victims of last year's Indian Ocean tsunami, were taken hostage by Somali pirates for three months before being released.
- SAPA