Spanish Judge orders Suspected Pirates to be Brought to Spain

A Spanish judge Thursday ordered seven suspected pirates to be placed in custody and brought to Spain after they were captured by a Spanish vessel off Somalia, judicial sources said.

National Court judge Fernando Andreu said the suspects had to be imprisoned so that the Defence Ministry could bring them to Spain for questioning. The seven were being kept on board the military tanker Marques de la Ensenada, which is participating in European Union patrols against pirates in the Indian Ocean. Its crew rescued and arrested the suspects, who had fallen into the water after their boat capsized when they were trying to board the Panamanian-flagged vessel MV NEPHELI on Wednesday.

The Spaniards seized objects that could serve as evidence that the detainees were pirates, including their boat and a ladder, judicial sources said. Andreu was investigating whether the suspects could face trial in Spain, given that the incident occurred in international waters. Prosecutors asked Andreu to issue a jailing order, arguing that piracy fell under the principle of international jurisdiction. Andreu issued the order after the suspects had been identified. The warship is part in European Union anti-pirate patrols in the region.

Last month the Spanish detained nine suspected Somalian pirates believed to have launched a failed attack on an Italian cruise ship. It handed the nine suspects over to the authorities in the Seychelles.

Source: Ecoterra Intl, May 8, 2009

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