Six Accused of Piracy To Go On Trial In Seychelles Court

Six new suspected Somali Pirates have appeared before the Seychelles court on September 3 for the offence of acts of piracy on the high seas and have all been remanded for 14 days.

Aged between 15 and 38 years old, the suspected pirates arrived in the country on Saturday, September 1 having left the Dutch Patrol Vessel HNLMS Rotterdam after the Seychelles government responded positively to holding their trial there. The suspect pirates were flown in on a RNLAF KDC-10 aircraft departing from Salalah, Oman [UPDATE}.

The suspected pirates were apprehended on August 13 on their way to Somalia on board a Cargo vessel, named Burhan Noor, which they had captured on August 11 in the Gulf of Aden.  Burhan Noor Master and 14 crew members who, along with their vessel, were captured and taken hostage were all Pakistanis.

According to HNLMS Rotterdam Captain, the suspected pirates initially refused to surrender, threatened to fight them and to even kill the hostages, so his men had to fire warning shots to frighten them before boarding Burhan Noor and liberating the hostages.

Disrupted dhow [Credit: NATO]

After having had their statements recorded, the Master and crew were released on August 14 to continue their journey to Salalah, Oman.

The 6 suspected pirates will reappear before the Supreme Court on September 18, 2012.

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Source: http://www.oceanuslive.org