Somalia jails six foreigners for bringing in 'pirate ransom' money

[News_Editor]

Somalia jails six foreigners for bringing in 'pirate ransom' money

2011-06-19 05:13:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOGADISHU (BNO NEWS) -- Somalia on Saturday sentenced six foreigners to prison for bringing alleged pirate ransom money illegally into the country, the BBC reported.

According to the report, three British citizens, two Kenyans and an American were carrying more than $3 million dollars in cash to allegedly pay ransoms to pirates for ships they hold. The two men accused of carrying the cash received 15-year sentences, while the others were sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The men were taken into custody on May 24, shortly after they landed at the airport in the capital, Mogadishu. This is the first time Westerners have been convicted for alleged involvement in the delivery of ransoms.

The Somali government opposes the payment of ransoms, even though the practice is common. The United Nation says more than $110 million in ransoms were paid to Somali pirates last year.

Somali pirates are currently holding at least 21 vessels with an estimated 464 hostages and an unknown number of dhows and smaller vessels, according to the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR). The piracy monitoring group Ecoterra, however, says pirates are holding at least 46 vessels and 725 hostages.

In recent years, pirates (mostly from Somalia) have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. EU NAVFOR is patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months. According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-19

[Emster23]

Arrested them? Isn't kidnapping just about the only business there? Only way to get foreign currency? Guess they forgot to bring a little "tea money" for officials. Live and learn.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Looks like now the Government is also in the Pirate business too.

The world should just turn there back on this part of the world and it will cave in on itself

[merkco]

I think it's time to clean out the cesspool that place has become. They won't go after the criminals but will prosecute the ones who try to free the victims.

[NevilleMinshell]

Isn't it about time to deploy a few Q ships and blow these feckers out of the water?

[hawthorne]

The solution is so easy. A little carpet bombing along the shore. Collateral damage is to be expected but I am sure in some way the dead are connected to the whole affair in supporting. Any pirate ship at sea is sunk and left to drown. Send in troops to get the guys out of prison. Close the door on that god forsaken place and let the people starve. That is better than than deserve.

[Mario2008]

Many countries have laws against paying kidnappers. Not surpising hat they don't like to engcourage kidnapping/piracy.

[mikecwm]

So to try and prevent the pirates taking ships, foreign warships waste fuel and roam the Indian Ocean hoping to "accidently" come across an act of piracy so they can prevent it and arrrest the Somalian pirates.

How incredibly stupid!

In the early 1970s I was aboard a Royal Navy warship which blockaded the port of Beira to prevent goods entering or leaving the newly (and illegally declared) independant country of Rhodesia - under Ian Smith.

Why dont these foreign warships just sit off the ports in Somalia being used by the pirates? Inspect every boat entering or leaving and check for weapons.

Who will complain? The ineffective government of Somalia? Tough. If they can't control the problem, then they must accept help.

The pirates will be confined to port, the ships currently in port can have their ransoms paid and leave - problem over.

The pirates will have to go back to fishing - without carrying assault weapons.

[swerver]

So to try and prevent the pirates taking ships, foreign warships waste fuel and roam the Indian Ocean hoping to "accidently" come across an act of piracy so they can prevent it and arrrest the Somalian pirates.

How incredibly stupid!

In the early 1970s I was aboard a Royal Navy warship which blockaded the port of Beira to prevent goods entering or leaving the newly (and illegally declared) independant country of Rhodesia - under Ian Smith.

Why dont these foreign warships just sit off the ports in Somalia being used by the pirates? Inspect every boat entering or leaving and check for weapons.

Who will complain? The ineffective government of Somalia? Tough. If they can't control the problem, then they must accept help.

The pirates will be confined to port, the ships currently in port can have their ransoms paid and leave - problem over.

The pirates will have to go back to fishing - without carrying assault weapons.

Yes you are absolutely correct "Let them go back to fishing" statement like that qualifies for the Head of the UN job which is coming up for bids, what about throw your head in the ring?

Thousands of Somalis once made their living as fishermen. But Somalia has been without a central government for nearly two decades - so there's no active body that's able to effectively protect the country's rights to its coastline, and the once-abundant supply of fish it held. So now, due to the willingness of foreigners to exploit fisheries off Somalia's coast, and the lack of a governing body to stave them off, many of these Somali fishermen are finding their nets empty.

And without the ability to bring home even a sufficient amount of fish to eat, many of these fishermen justifiably grow desperate. But even from here, it's not a simple jump to pirating. Initially, many of the now-termed "pirates" were vigilante patrol squads, steering their boats to fishing vessels they found illegally snagging seafood. After this proved ineffective, something closer to organized piracy developed.

When things get bad, people get desperate – and things in Somalia have been really bad for a while. Somali pirates have taken over the Gulf of Aden and as you know, unless you've been living under a rock, have been in the news a lot lately for taking international hostages. While some people might opine that these pirates are simply bloodthirsty criminals, the fact is that stark hardships have spurred these people to act for their own survival, at all costs" Desperate persons who have nothing to lose, are most dangerous, and that is the present situation in Somalia and the piracy epidemic. Global Security will only be attained through shared prosperity.

[Ulysses G.]

Than God there is someone sensitive enough to defend thieving, murdering Pirates!

[exbelg]

still people around to protect the pirates i see...

so if the peasants in your country find that they do not earn enough anymore, they should also start to kidnapp people and ask ransom ?

are you fueling the poor rice farmers in thailand to go out and kidnapp some farang, as they get very low prices for their rice and it is not liveable anymore ???

strange logic ...

indeed, send the warships to the coast of somalia, check every boat and go free the boats taken hostage

sink any pirate ship preferable with the pirats on board, they will never do it again

[Scott]

I don't know if the poster is defending the pirates or not. It's a little hard to defend the indefensible. The post is informative as to how piracy evolved into the problem it is.

I am curious how the foreigners got arrested by the government which really doesn't exist?

[janverbeem]

So to try and prevent the pirates taking ships, foreign warships waste fuel and roam the Indian Ocean hoping to "accidently" come across an act of piracy so they can prevent it and arrrest the Somalian pirates.

How incredibly stupid!

In the early 1970s I was aboard a Royal Navy warship which blockaded the port of Beira to prevent goods entering or leaving the newly (and illegally declared) independant country of Rhodesia - under Ian Smith.

Why dont these foreign warships just sit off the ports in Somalia being used by the pirates? Inspect every boat entering or leaving and check for weapons.

Who will complain? The ineffective government of Somalia? Tough. If they can't control the problem, then they must accept help.

The pirates will be confined to port, the ships currently in port can have their ransoms paid and leave - problem over.

The pirates will have to go back to fishing - without carrying assault weapons.

Yes you are absolutely correct "Let them go back to fishing" statement like that qualifies for the Head of the UN job which is coming up for bids, what about throw your head in the ring?

Thousands of Somalis once made their living as fishermen. But Somalia has been without a central government for nearly two decades - so there's no active body that's able to effectively protect the country's rights to its coastline, and the once-abundant supply of fish it held. So now, due to the willingness of foreigners to exploit fisheries off Somalia's coast, and the lack of a governing body to stave them off, many of these Somali fishermen are finding their nets empty.

And without the ability to bring home even a sufficient amount of fish to eat, many of these fishermen justifiably grow desperate. But even from here, it's not a simple jump to pirating. Initially, many of the now-termed "pirates" were vigilante patrol squads, steering their boats to fishing vessels they found illegally snagging seafood. After this proved ineffective, something closer to organized piracy developed.

When things get bad, people get desperate and things in Somalia have been really bad for a while. Somali pirates have taken over the Gulf of Aden and as you know, unless you've been living under a rock, have been in the news a lot lately for taking international hostages. While some people might opine that these pirates are simply bloodthirsty criminals, the fact is that stark hardships have spurred these people to act for their own survival, at all costs" Desperate persons who have nothing to lose, are most dangerous, and that is the present situation in Somalia and the piracy epidemic. Global Security will only be attained through shared prosperity.

If that wasn't a nice copy and paste job http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/overfishing-pirates-phillips-somali.php

Next time be so fair to mention your source

[Ulysses G.]

Doesn't posting a whole article (and not crediting the writer by the way) violate the fair trade rule?

[Steely Dan]

Doesn't posting a whole article (and not crediting the writer by the way) violate the fair trade rule?

It's piracy if you ask me.

[mikecwm]

So to try and prevent the pirates taking ships, foreign warships waste fuel and roam the Indian Ocean hoping to "accidently" come across an act of piracy so they can prevent it and arrrest the Somalian pirates.

How incredibly stupid!

In the early 1970s I was aboard a Royal Navy warship which blockaded the port of Beira to prevent goods entering or leaving the newly (and illegally declared) independant country of Rhodesia - under Ian Smith.

Why dont these foreign warships just sit off the ports in Somalia being used by the pirates? Inspect every boat entering or leaving and check for weapons.

Who will complain? The ineffective government of Somalia? Tough. If they can't control the problem, then they must accept help.

The pirates will be confined to port, the ships currently in port can have their ransoms paid and leave - problem over.

The pirates will have to go back to fishing - without carrying assault weapons.

Yes you are absolutely correct "Let them go back to fishing" statement like that qualifies for the Head of the UN job which is coming up for bids, what about throw your head in the ring?

Thousands of Somalis once made their living as fishermen. But Somalia has been without a central government for nearly two decades - so there's no active body that's able to effectively protect the country's rights to its coastline, and the once-abundant supply of fish it held. So now, due to the willingness of foreigners to exploit fisheries off Somalia's coast, and the lack of a governing body to stave them off, many of these Somali fishermen are finding their nets empty.

And without the ability to bring home even a sufficient amount of fish to eat, many of these fishermen justifiably grow desperate. But even from here, it's not a simple jump to pirating. Initially, many of the now-termed "pirates" were vigilante patrol squads, steering their boats to fishing vessels they found illegally snagging seafood. After this proved ineffective, something closer to organized piracy developed.

When things get bad, people get desperate – and things in Somalia have been really bad for a while. Somali pirates have taken over the Gulf of Aden and as you know, unless you've been living under a rock, have been in the news a lot lately for taking international hostages. While some people might opine that these pirates are simply bloodthirsty criminals, the fact is that stark hardships have spurred these people to act for their own survival, at all costs" Desperate persons who have nothing to lose, are most dangerous, and that is the present situation in Somalia and the piracy epidemic. Global Security will only be attained through shared prosperity.

I'm sorry, where abouts is this Utopia that you live in, where the rich share their wealth with the poor? Somewhere near Sherwood Forest?

If there are no fish left, then the people of Somalia will need to come up with other means of creating a living - that doesn't include taking hostages for ransom. Or is that legitimate in your Utopia when the fish run out?

[maidu]

Just this morning there was a BBC special on Mogadishu. What a miserable place, pockets of women and children scuffling and cowering from one pile of rubble to another, gunshots in the background, rapes and shootings all the time. If you want a glimpse of the endtimes of human domination of the planet, go visit the place.

The solution is so easy. A little carpet bombing along the shore. Collateral damage is to be expected but I am sure in some way the dead are connected to the whole affair in supporting. Any pirate ship at sea is sunk and left to drown. Send in troops to get the guys out of prison. Close the door on that god forsaken place and let the people starve. That is better than than deserve.

Before carpet bombing the seaside towns, give a 24 hour warning to everyone to vacate the places. One drawback is hostages kept as human shields in those towns. That's probably the main obstacle to sending troops directly in to smoke out the bad guys.

Also, the idea of tightly cordoning the seashore is interesting. Obviously, it won't be 100% effective, but it could help. There could be military further out which could sink any ships which run the cordon. However, the first two reasons put forth, on why it's impractical, are the long length of the Somali coast and the expense of maintaining military presence 24 hours along the coast.

Also, with all the tens of millions of ransom money, the pirates are upgrading their arsenals and detection devices.

[JohnAllan]

The Somali government? The last time I checked, Somalia was without a functioning government

[JohnAllan]

Ancient Rome finally got its act together and halted piracy in its realms. But not before Julias Caesar, released by pirates in exchange for a ransome, hunted his kidnappers down . . . and crucified them.

Crucifixion might be a step too far, but piracy falls under the definition of treason - a Capital offence in many, if not all, countries. Also defined as a 'War-like' act, piracy contravenes aspects of the Law of Nations; takes place in international waters; and Somalia, from where, apparently, ninety five percent of pirate attacks launch, is either under a functioning government . . . Or not, dependent on the reliability of media information.

The major - and not so major - powers are pussyfooting around. There seems no arguable reason, considering the perceived letter of the law, not to meet violence with violence. Put another way: either declare piracy to be an act of war, and react accordingly. Or, in the absence of a Somalian executive branch, occupy, and enforce a system of government on, the country.

But, of course . . . the estimated piracy GDP of USD12Bn. is a drop in the International ocean, in global terms. Perhaps, for the powers concerned, there just isn't enough money involved to merit direct intervention.