17 pirates transferred to Somaliland - 30.03.2012
Source: Seychelles Nation
The Seychelles government has transferred 17 convicted Somali pirates aged between 17 and 60 years to prisons in Somaliland where they will complete their 10 to 24-year sentences.
The transfer was done under agreements made earlier between Seychelles and Somaliland authorities.
The successful repatriation and jailing of all 17 Somalis was confirmed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime officials upon the convicts arrival in Hargeisa, Somaliland yesterday morning.
This first transfer has taken place in the wake of a meeting held between Seychelles President James Michel and the President of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, at the London Conference on Somalia held last month where the issue of transfer of convicted Somali pirates currently jailed at the Montagne Posée prison was agreed.
The transfer is the first of its kind for both Seychelles and Somaliland in their efforts in the fight against piracy.
“The recent transfer is proof that there is an effective transfer route and the agreements signed between the respective authorities will ensure collaboration between Seychelles, Somaliland and Puntland to see more transfers in the future,” said the Home Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan.
He said this onward incarceration of convicted pirates is critical to ensuring that the offenders are brought to justice, and is the first step in ending the bottleneck of Somali pirates who are in prison in Seychelles.
Since Seychelles first began prosecuting pirates in 2010 the government has been faced with serious prison capacity challenges, with over 20% of the local prison population comprising Somalis.
“We have been working hard for the past two years to ensure that, while we will do our part in bringing these pirates to justice, we will no longer have to bear the burden of incarceration indefinitely,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam.
“We have always said that we would prosecute suspected pirates as long as they would eventually serve out their sentences in Somalia, and this first test case will now allow us to have the appropriate mechanisms in place to do this.”
The London discussions were also attended by representatives of Governments and partners in the fight against piracy, including both Minister Morgan and Minister Adam as well as the British High Commissioner to Seychelles, Matthew Forbes, and Alan Cole, the UNODC Counter Piracy Programme Coordinator.
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