Thursday, August 1, 2013
31-july-2013
A Kenyan court in the coastal city of Mombasa has sentenced 9 Somalis to 5 years in prison each for attempting to hijack the German merchant vessel 'MV Courier' in the Gulf of Aden in March 2009, reports Reuters.The men were arrested by international anti-piracy forces before being handed over to Kenya to be prosecuted, as Somalia was not considered able to try them properly.Prosecutors told the court the men attacked the ship armed with a rocket launcher, an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, a SAR80 carbine rifle, and other weapons.While handing out the sentence, the court noted that the accused had already served a long term in a maximum security prison while the trial was in progress, and therefore were given shorter jail terms.
