Somali pirates get 439-year sentences

In 2009, a Spanish fishing vessel, the Alakrana, was taken over by 12 armed Somali pirates as it made its way to the Seychelles.  On board were 36 crew members, made up of Spaniards and various Africans and Asians, who were detained by the pirates for 47 days.  The Spanish military was able to capture two of the pirates, Raageggesey Hassan Aji and Cabdiweli Cabdullahi, who were then brought to Madrid for trial.  This was very uncommon as most Somali pirates are turned over to African authorities for court proceedings and are never brought to Europe.  After two years, the Spanish court has just convicted each pirate with a 439-year prison sentence.  They have been sentenced for 11 years for each crew member detained (11 years x 36 members = 396 years), as well as an additional 43-year sentence made up of charges including armed robbery and membership in a criminal gang.  Despite these incredibly high sentences, court officials said that the maximum allowed prison sentence for these types of crimes is actually only about 30 years! 

Mark Zajac