9 seconds ago 2009-11-22T10:40:04-08:00
MOMBASA, Kenya (AFP) – Seven Somali pirates captured last month by European Union warships after an attack on a French fishing vessel were handed to Kenyan authorities on Monday for trial, police said.
The men were brought to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa aboard a German frigate, the FGS Karlsruhe, which was despatched to the scene of the October 27 attack some 350 nautical miles east of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Mombasa port police chief Ayub Gitonga said the seven will be arraigned in court on Tuesday and charged with attempting to hijack a ship.
Kenya currently detains 132 suspected Somali pirates handed over mainly by Western naval forces patrolling the waters off the lawless Horn of Africa country. Ten have been convicted and handed jail terms.
Since the start of October, subsiding monsoon winds have allowed pirates equipped with small skiffs to resume their operations in earnest after a lull that had seen the number of hijacked vessels drop to two.
