9 Pirates Sentenced Up to 14 years For Attempted Hijack Danish Tanker in 2013
DENMARK FAILED to prosecute nine pirates for an attack on the Danish-flagged tanker Torm Kansas and ordered to pay the pirates 20,000 Danish crowns (approx $3,247) in damages. The same pirates have now been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the Seychelles, according to Danish news agency, Ritzau.
One of the nine Somali pirates who is under age 18 has received a three year sentence in prison by the court in the Seychelles. The remaining eight pirates have each been given a sentence of 14 years.
The Danish warship, Esbern Snare, arrested the nine pirates 10 November 2013, after they had tried to hijack the Danish tanker ship Torm Kansas in the Indian Ocean, and Hong Kong-flagged MV Zhongji No. 1 on 6 November 2013, also for making use of a whaler as a pirate ship.
At the time, the Danish warship Esbern Snare was on pirate patrol during NATO deployment. Danish police were involved in the case and the Public Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime (Søik) targeted Somalis for piracy.
The pirates were remanded in custody in absentia in Copenhagen City Court on 23 Nov 2013, but were later released by the High Court and each received 20,000 Danish crowns in damages because they were held on Esbern Snare too long before being brought before a judge.
The warship took the pirates to the Seychelles for trial. During the trial, 15 crew members from Esbern Snare testified against the nine pirates. Torm, the shipping company which owns Torm Kansas, is very pleased that the pirates have been brought to justice.
Delivering his judgment last Friday, Seychelles Supreme Court Judge, Sri Lankan national Mohan Niranjit Burhan rejected the defence's argument that the nine accused were merely fishermen.
“…there was no fishing equipment or deep freeze on board the whaler to indicate that the accused were genuine fishermen,” said Burhan in his deliberation.
The judge also rejected the accused's claims that they had been detained and tried by the state of Denmark for an act of piracy against the Danish vessel, after which they were allegedly released and promised compensation.
The prosecution had submitted to the Supreme Court that although the state of Denmark had the right to try the suspected pirates, if they did not wish to do so, they could approach a regional state to prosecute the nine, which led the case to be tried in the Seychelles' UN-funded anti-piracy court, as has been the case with every case prosecuted in the archipelago.
According to Burhan's judgement, he agreed with this argument, citing the precedence of the concept of universal jurisdiction, which allows states or international organizations to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of where the alleged crime was committed, and regardless of the accused's nationality, country of residence, or any other relation with the prosecuting entity.
All three counts of piracy for which they were charged carry a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and a fine of almost $75,000.
However, after finding the accused guilty of piracy, Judge Burhan sentenced the eight adults to 14 years in prison on all three counts while the juvenile was given a three-year sentence on each count of piracy. Burhan ruled that the sentences would run concurrently and that the time they had already spent in detention would be deducted from their sentences.
Burhan told Seychelles News Agency (SNA) that the Supreme Court had sought the expert opinion of forensic analysts from Sri Lanka to confirm claims made by several of the nine accused that they were under 18.
“Forensic analysis proved that only one, the first accused, was in fact a juvenile and this was accepted by both the defence and prosecution,” said Burhan.
The Judge also informed SNA that this was the first piracy trial where the Seychelles court had heard evidence through video links from three witnesses; the master, team leader and security officer of the Danish ship ‘MV Torm Kansas’.
“We are very pleased with the efforts by the defence and the authorities of Seychelles. The pirates have been given a trial and been convicted, which is very important, not least for the ship's crew.
It is important for seafarers for it to happen, they often suffer from mental scars after an attack," says technical director of Torm, Jesper S. Jensen, speaking to Ritzau.
It is the first time that pirates behind an attack on a Danish ship and kidnapping of Danish seamen were prosecuted and sent behind bars.
According to statistics provided to SNA by the Seychelles Prison Service, a total of 33 Somali pirates are still being held at the Seychelles Prison at Montagne Posee prison in the lush tropical mountains leading to the western part of the main inhabited island, Mahé, where they are kept separate from the local prisoners.
Following the latest conviction out of this number, 28 Somali pirates have already been sentenced and the remaining 5 are still on remand awaiting trial.
Original sources: Ritzau (Denmark)/ Seychelles News Agency
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