Nine pirates sentenced in the Seychelles. Almost the end of a cycle?

(BRUSSELS2) Nine Somalis were sentenced on Friday (March 20) by the Seychelles Supreme Court for piracy, most of them to 14 years in prison. A minor is among them and was sentenced to 3 years for each count, according to Seychelles News Agency who announces the information. They were found guilty of attacking the tanker MV Torm Kansas, a vessel flying the Danish flag, as well as the Mr. V. Zhongji No. 1, a chemical tanker flying the Hong Kong flag, on November 6, 2013, aboard a skiff and a whaler, requisitioned for the occasion and serving as a mother ship (1).

The attack was stopped by the private guards on board, then arrested in the Gulf of Aden a day later by the Danish navy ship, the HDMS Esbern Snare, which was part of NATO's Operation Ocean Shield, according to elements of B2 (2). They were then handed over to the Seychelles authorities on November 30. Denmark having signed a bilateral agreement to surrender suspects.

Three arguments rejected by the judge

The Danish courts were first contacted but denied jurisdiction (3). It was only then, after negotiation and a certain period of time, that Denmark managed to transfer the suspects to Seychelles (4).

An argument that the accused tried to put forward before the Court, believing that they had already been tried by the State of Denmark and released. Seychelles Supreme Court Justice Mohan Niranjit Burhan rejected this argument, citing in his deliberation that Seychelles News Agency, the primacy of the notion of universal jurisdiction, which allows States or international organizations to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of the place where the alleged crime was committed, and regardless of the nationality of the accused, his country of residence, or any other relationship with the individual being prosecuted.

Likewise, the judge rejected the defense's argument that the nine defendants were simply fishermen. “There was no fishing equipment or freezer on board the whaler to indicate that the accused were genuine fishermen ».

Last argument rejected, that of youth. The Court had also requested the expert opinion of judicial analysts from Sri Lanka (NB: the judge was Sri Lankan) to estimate the age of several of the accused who claimed to be under 18 years old. “Forensic analysis determined that only one of the accused, the first, was a minor. Which was accepted by both the defense and the prosecution said Judge Burhan.

Note that this is the first time that the Seychelles court has interviewed witnesses — the captain, the team leader and the security manager of the Danish ship MV Torm Kansas — thanks to video links of three witnesses. A practice already used in several piracy trials, notably in Mauritius (5) or Kenya.

The diminishing “stock” of pirates imprisoned in the Seychelles

The “stock” of pirates or suspects detained in the Indian Ocean archipelago has decreased significantly in recent months.

According to a latest report from the Seychelles prison services, noted by our colleagues, 114 Somali pirates have already been repatriated to Somalia, either to Garowe prison (Puntland) or to Hargeysa prison (Somaliland), two detention centers built with with assistance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The last repatriation was made for three suspects acquitted by the Seychelles Court of Appeal in December 2014 (6).

33 Somali pirates still remain detained at Montagne Posée prison, the main establishment in Seychelles, separate from local prisoners. But only 5 are still in pre-trial detention, awaiting their trials, the other 28 have already been sentenced.

Noticeable drop in piracy

This state of affairs reflects the very clear decrease in piracy in the Indian Ocean, according to the different maritime sources, even if the methods of counting differ: 20 suspicious approaches, 7 attacks and 0 pirated ships in 2013 according to EUNavfor HQ Atalanta in London; 4 suspicious approaches, 2 attacks and 0 pirated ships in 2014. No activity recorded for the (almost) first three months of 2015…

(NGV)

Lire:

• (1) A merchant ship attacked. Pirate groups in the area).
• (2) A new ship attacked in the Indian Ocean. 9 suspects arrested (update)
• (3) Suspicious pirates: still not certain
• (4) The nine suspects transferred to the Seychelles
• (5) The 12 pirates tried in Mauritius acquitted
• (6) 3 Somali pirates arrested by Danes in 2012 acquitted in Seychelles. Lack of evidence