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Prosecutors hail triumph of rule of law in successful pirate conviction

PROSECUTORS hailed the first successful conviction of Somali pirates in a Mauritius court as a triumph of the rule of law after an earlier judgment found the accused not guilty.

"This has been a victory for the international community and the rule of law," said Mauritius chief prosecutor Satyajit Boolell.

"We have ensured that the pirates were given a fair trial, and they were represented by legal counsel throughout the trial," he said.

"We have played our part as a member of the regional and international communities' efforts in the fight against piracy," said Mr Boolell.

The Republic of Mauritius challenged an earlier court ruling in November 2014 that had found the men not guilty of attacking the Cypriot containership as it transited the Indian Ocean.

This was the first piracy trial held by the Mauritian Court after a transfer agreement that enables authorities to transfer accused pirates to be moved to the island nation for prosecution.

This arrangement is contained in a deal signed between the European Union and the Mauritian Government in July 2011, noted the American Journal of Commerce.

When attacked, the 2,078-TEU MSC Jasmine's captain put out a distress call to say that his ship had been assaulted by a number of men who were armed with rocket propelled grenades.

The private security contractors on board managed to repel the attack.

Upon receiving the distress call, an American and French frigate together with a German patrol aircraft closed off the sea area.

Upon arrival at the scene, French personnel boarded two suspect vessels, and arrested 12 men, who were transferred to Mauritius for prosecution.

The European Union also has a transfer agreement with the Republic of the Seychelles and just last month the Seychellois Court found seven men guilty of attacking the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Nave Atropos in the Gulf of Aden in January 2014.

These two cases follow another successful piracy conviction in April this year, when a French court sentenced six Somalis to between 6 and 15 years after they were found guilty of attacking the yacht, Tribal Kat, and the murder of its French skipper, in September 2011.

Said EU naval force commander Maj Gen Rob Magowan, Royal Marines: "These convictions send a clear message to pirates intent on going out to sea to attack ships - EU Naval Force warships will not hesitate to find and apprehend them and transfer them for prosecution."