Mombassa, Kenya, , Aug 4, 2006 – Ten Somalis arrested in the high seas in connection with piracy have a case to answer, a Mombassa court ruled yesterday.

They will be put on their defense to give unsworn evidence on what they were doing in the high seas when they were arrested. The court will thereafter deliver its judgment.

After yesterday's ruling by principal magistrate Beatrice Jaden, the men said they did not have any witnesses to call.

They were arrested by US Navy officers on January 22 after they allegedly hijacked an Indian vessel, MV Safina al Bisaraat, which had 16 crew members. They were then airlifted to Mombassa by two US military helicopters.

According to the charge sheet, the men jointly attacked and detained the vessel and assaulted and threatened the lives of the crew. The court also heard that they made demands to the captain, Mr. Akbar Ali Suleiman, for a ransom of Sh3.5 million ($50,000), but they have denied the charges.

The accused are :

Mr. Hassan Mohammed Ahmed,

Mr. Diwan Maalim Abdillahi,

Mr. Abdikadir Labhale Warsame,

Mr. Hussein Noor Ali,

Mr. Liban Abdi Ali,

Mr. Muktar Mohammed Hassan,

Mr. Mohammed Ali Farah,

Mr. Mohammed Abdi Fitah,

Mr. Mahmud Mohammed Jama and

Mr. Aweh Mohammed.

Earlier, the court was told that there were contradictions in the evidence given by prosecution witnesses. Mr. Mohammed Khatib, representing the suspects, said the contradictions had created doubt in court and it was important for the accused to prove their innocence by being put on the defense.

Mr. Khatib also said the trial should have been conducted in India or Somalia, not in Kenya, since the vessel they allegedly hijacked was registered in India and the men were arrested in   Somalia’s territorial waters. He also said that the courts in Kenya did not have jurisdiction to conduct the trial.

But assistant director of public prosecutions Margaret Mwangi said although the offence occurred in international waters, Kenya had jurisdiction under Section 69 (1) to try an offence of piracy under international law.

"An offence of piracy has universal jurisdiction which exists where the acts took place regardless of the nationality of the offenders," she said.

Mrs. Mwangi told the court that the general principle of the high seas was that it was open to enjoyment of every State, whether coastal or landlocked, and was not subject to the sovereignty of any State.

Source: Daily Nation

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