8 Somalis sentenced in Italy

(BRUSSELS2) Eight Somalis accused of hijacking the Montecristo, a cargo ship attacked in October 2011 620 miles off the Somali coast, were sentenced on Friday (November 30) to heavy prison terms by the Court of Assizes in Rome. The leader was sentenced to 19 years in prison and the other members to 16 years for attempted kidnapping for the purpose of extortion and possession of weapons of war. Or roughly what the prosecution had demanded (respectively 22 years and 18 years). Simply the judges did not retain an aggravating circumstance of terrorism. I

he crew had taken refuge in the "citadel" inside the engine room and blocked the ship. The situation was beginning to be difficult; as the pirates used explosives and crowbars to try to dislodge them, even lighting fires to coerce them out of their lair. The commandos of RFA Fort Victoria, a British ship taking part in the operation Ocean Shield (NATO), had come to end the attack arresting 11 suspects. The fate of 3 of the suspects is not specified (released?).

Lire aussi Assault on the Montecristo