Square of aces, sentences lighter than required for Somali pirates

(B2) The Paris Miners' Assize Court (*) finally delivered a rather lenient verdict towards the six pirates of the Carré d'As on Wednesday (November 30). One of the defendants, the one responsible for supplying the kidnappers and their victims, was acquitted, the others sentenced to terms ranging from four to eight years in prison. The Advocate General had called for sentences of 6 to 16 years. The jurors apparently took into account that these pirates were not the organizers of the act; this is apparently a former Somali customs officer, Youssouf Haji Shiré, who has not been arrested. Their humble situation, their repentance, the fact that the victims - the Delannes present at the hearing - did not ask for too high sentences also played in the opinion rendered.

(*) One of the defendants was a minor at the time of the events.