Suspected Pirates

International Support for Efforts to Bring Suspected Pirates to Justice in 2013

United States views on international law [1] in relation to International Support for Efforts to Bring Suspected Pirates to Justice: (1) United Nations

On November 18, 2013, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2125, its annual resolution on piracy off the coast of Somalia. U.N. Doc. S/RES/2125 (2013). The resolution notes the significant decrease in reported incidents of piracy, renews authorizations in previous resolutions on piracy, and repeats the calls to criminalize, prosecute, support Somalia in its counter-piracy efforts, and in other ways combat piracy.

Some Aspects of International Support for Efforts to Bring Suspected Pirates to Justice

(2) Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia

In 2013, the United States served as chair of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (“CGPCS” or “Contact Group”). See this world legal encyclopedia (in relation to issues that took place in the year 2009) at 464-67 regarding the creation of the CGPCS and the website of the CGPCS, (link resource) thecgpcs.org, for more information. The fourteenth plenary session of the CPCS was held on May 1, 2013. Communiques released at the conclusion of each session are available at (link resource) thecgpcs.org/plenary.do?action=plenaryMain#. The U.S. Department of State issued quarterly updates on the CGPCS as fact sheets from the Bureau of PoliticalMilitary Affairs. The first quarterly update for 2013, available at (Secretary of State website) state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/2013/207651.htm, includes the following:

On January 25, the EU Naval Force vessel FS SURCOUF transferred 12 suspected pirates to authorities in Mauritius for prosecution. The French naval frigate captured the suspected pirates after an attack on a merchant vessel off Somalia's coast earlier that month. On February 25, the EU Naval Force frigate HNLMS DE RUYTER transferred nine suspected pirates to authorities in the Republic of Seychelles. The suspects were captured aboard two skiffs after an alarm report from a merchant vessel on February 19. Piracy Trials On February 27, a federal jury in Norfolk, Virginia convicted five Somali men of piracy for the 2010 attack on the USS ASHLAND. A piracy conviction in the United States carries a mandatory life sentence. Trials have been proceeding in the region for 16 suspected pirates detained in April 2012 by the Danish naval vessel ABSALON, operating as part of NATO's Operation OCEAN SHIELD. A court in Seychelles sentenced three of the pirates to prison terms of 24 years and a fourth to 16 years. Denmark collaborated with Pakistan to secure Pakistani fishermen held hostage by the pirates to serve as witnesses in court. The next step will be to transfer the convicted pirates to serve their sentences in their home country, Somalia.

Developments

The second quarterly report, available at (Secretary of State website) state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/2013/212140.htm, likewise contains updates on prosecutions and apprehensions:

• On July 8, a federal jury in Norfolk, Virginia convicted three Somali pirates of the 2011 murder of four Americans aboard the yacht QUEST off the coast of East Africa; sentencing proceedings will begin later in July. Eleven of the pirates who attacked the QUEST pleaded guilty in federal court in 2011 and were given life sentences. The onshore negotiator working for the pirates also received multiple life sentences. • On June 10, a Kenyan court sentenced nine Somali citizens each to five years in prison after finding them guilty of violently hijacking the MV MAGELLAN STAR in the Gulf of Aden in September 2010. The court issued the relatively short prison terms in recognition of time served. • On July 2, seven suspected pirates apprehended by U.S. forces in February 2009 were convicted in Kenya for the attempted hijacking of the MV POLARIS and sentenced to four years imprisonment. • The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provided a Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) to Tanzanian authorities in support of that country's two ongoing piracy trials. The UFED enables the Tanzanian police's Cyber Crime Unit to develop its capability to extract information from the phones of suspected pirates and those suspected of other transnational organized crimes. Apprehensions at Sea • On June 5, EU Naval Force warship HSwMS CARLSKRONA and NATO counterpiracy Dutch warship HNLMS VAN SPEJIK rescued fourteen Indian sailors after Somali pirates abandoned their captured dhow in the Gulf of Aden Prisoner Transfers • In Seychelles, the UNODC supported talks for the next round of prisoner transfers to Somaliland and Puntland. A total of 23 convicted Somali piracy prisoners consented to be transferred immediately, while two elected to wait for their appeals to be heard. UNODC also supported arrangements for the return of one Somali juvenile to his family after completing his sentence for piracy and subject to his informed consent, as well as funding of defense lawyers for the last group of nine suspected pirates detained by EUNAVFOR.

Details

The third quarterly update, available at (Secretary of State website) state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/2013/215719.htm, includes the following information about piracy prosecutions: • On October 12, Belgian police arrested Mohamed Abdi Hassan at Brussels airport. Hassan, whose nickname, Afweyne, means “Big Mouth,” and whom the United Nations has called “one of the most notorious and influential leaders” of a major Somali pirate organization. Hassan is believed responsible for the hijacking of dozens of commercial vessels from 2008 to 2013. In a sting operation, Hassan was lured from Somalia to Belgium with promises of work on a documentary about high-seas crime. Belgian authorities also arrested an accomplice, Mohammad Aden Tiiceey. • Also on October 7, Spain began the trial of six Somalis accused of attacking the EU NAVFOR ship SPS PATINO in early January, 2012. Spain said the six apparently mistook the warship for a trawler and broke off an attack when the ship returned fire. The six claimed they were innocent fishermen.

• On October 7, Mauritius delayed the trial of 12 suspected Somali pirates due to the illness of one of the accused. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) had two interpreters there to translate in the courtroom. A third UNODC interpreter who was present for the translation of the defendants' statements in the investigation will be called as a prosecution witness. • On October 5, the counter-piracy Force Commanders from Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the EU Naval Force and NATO met at sea off the Somali Coast on board the EU Naval Force flagship, HNLMS JOHAN DE WITT. The meeting was to review the current and future situation concerning piracy in the Indian Ocean and to share information. Commodore Peter Lenselink from the Royal Netherlands Navy welcomed on board Commodore Jeremy Blunden from the Royal Navy (CMF) and Commodore Henning Amundsen from the Royal Norwegian Navy (NATO Operation Ocean Shield). • On October 2, the Seychellois Supreme Court passed sentence on the 11 Somali pirates convicted on three counts of piracy against the M/V SUPER LADY. The adults were given a 16-year sentence for each charge (to run concurrently). The youngest of the group was given an 18 month sentence which, taking account of the time he has served meant he was released immediately. He was returned to his family in Somalia within one week. The 11 were captured by the Dutch Navy ship HNLMS VAN AMSTEL, operating under Operation ATALANTA. • On September 19, a Tanzanian court found procedural problems in the trial of seven accused Somali pirates. The High Court in Dar es Salaam ordered a lower court to conduct proper committal proceedings in the trial against the seven, who are charged with attacking the oil exploration vessel M/V SAM S ALL-GOOD within Tanzania's waters. The Tanzanian navy captured the Somali suspects in October 2011. • On September 10, Spain's National Court sentenced six Somali pirates to jail for attempting to kidnap the crew of a fishing boat. They will likely serve 40 years each. The pirates targeted the F/V IZURDIA in October 2012 while it was sailing in the Indian Ocean. A French Ship, the FS LA FAYETTE, working under EUNAVFOR's Operation ATALANTA, and the Dutch ship HNLMS ROTTERDAM, working under NATO's Operation OCEAN SHIELD, caught the pirates October 24, 2012. • On September 5, a U.S. Appellate Court ordered pirate interpreter Ali Mohammed Ali returned to custody. The ruling came just 24 hours after a U.S. District Court Judge in Virginia freed Ali pending trial because he was held in pretrial detention for 28 months. • Also on September 2, the trial of nine defendants accused of involvement in the unsuccessful pirate attack on M/V ALBA STAR in February 2013 commenced in the Seychellois Supreme Court. Dutch naval officers from HNLMS DE RUYTER (operating under EUNAVFOR's Operation ATALANTA) as well as officers from the Spanish maritime aerial reconnaissance patrol gave evidence.

• On September 2, a Malaysian court sentenced seven Somali pirates to eight to 10 years imprisonment for shooting at Malaysian troops on board a tanker in Gulf of Aden. The pirates boarded the Malaysian-operated chemical tanker M/T BUNGA LAUREL in January of 2011. A Royal Malaysian Navy ship, the MT BUNGA MAS LIMA, captured the pirates a few hours later. • A U.S. jury on August 2 recommended that three Somali pirates be sentenced to life in prison in the slayings of four Americans aboard the yacht QUEST off the coast of Africa. Formal sentencing is set for October and November. Eleven of the pirates who attacked the QUEST pleaded guilty in federal court in 2011 and were given life sentences. The onshore negotiator working for the pirates also received multiple life sentences. • On July 23, the Seychellois Supreme Court convicted six Somali pirates accused of acts of piracy against the M/V BURHAN NOOR. Five of the six received sentences of 24 years. The other convicted pirate, aged 15, was sentenced to 12 years. The six were captured August 13, 2012, by the Dutch Navy ship HNLMS ROTTERDAM, working under NATO's Operation OCEAN SHIELD. • On July 30, the Magistrates Court in Mombasa, Kenya delivered sentence in the M/V COURIER case. Nine pirates, apprehended by the German frigate RHEINLAND-PFALZ, working under EUNAVFOR's Operation ATALANTA, and the American destroy USS MONTEREY of CTF 151, on March 3, 2009, received sentences of five years which will start from the date of judgment.

More

The 15th Plenary of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia was held in Djibouti, November 10-14, 2013. The State Department media note on the plenary is available at (Secretary of State website) state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/11/217619.htm. Among other things, the media note mentions that there have been no successful pirate attacks on commercial vessels off the Horn of Africa in more than 18 months. The United States passed the chairmanship to the European Union for 2014.

Resources

Notes

1. International Support for Efforts to Bring Suspected Pirates to Justice in Digest of United States Practice in International Law