Accused
Somali pirates on trial in France for 2009 hijacking
Monday,
October 14, 2013 Peter Snyder at 11:07
AM ET
[JURIST]
Three Somali pirates accused of hijacking a private yacht off the coast of
Somalia in 2009 went on trial in France Monday. The situation garnered heavy
media coverage after French special services attempted to rescue [Telegraph report]
the three french nationals being held captive on the sailboat on April 10,
2009, four days after they were taken hostage. The operation led to the death
of the boat's captain, Florent Lemacon, and the freeing of his wife and son.
The three pirates now between the ages of 27 and 31 have been held in French custody [AFP
report] since the incident four years ago.
A
number of countries around the world have taken actions in the attempt to solve
the problem of maritime piracy [JURIST news
archive]. In August a jury in the US District Court for
the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] convicted [JURIST report]
three Somali men of hijacking a boat and killing four Americans in 2011 off the
coast of Somalia. In February the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal Court upheld the sentences [JURIST
report] of 10 Somali pirates convicted of highjacking a UAE-owned bulk-carrier
ship in April 2011. In October 2012 the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg [official
website, in German] issued sentences [JURIST
report] for 10 Somalis who were involved in the hijacking the German freighter
MS Taipan off the coast of Somalia two years ago.
