Africa

UN creates new judicial mechanism to prosecute Somali pirates in Kenya

August 23, 2010   ·   178833 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2Fun-creates-new-judicial-mechanism-to-prosecute-somali-pirates-in-kenya-17883UN+creates+new+judicial+mechanism+to+prosecute+Somali+pirates+in+Kenya2010-08-23+20%3A27%3A41Mohamed+H.+Gulaidhttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2F%3Fp%3D17883

(Somalilandpress) — An international tribunal set up by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter authorizing the use of force is among several options to prosecute pirates operating off the Somali coast laid out by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a new report made public today. This comes as a federal judge last week dismissed piracy charges against six Somali men accused of attacking a Navy ship off the coast of Africa, concluding the U.S. government failed to make the case their alleged actions amounted to piracy.
Piracy attacks have escalated worldwide in recent years owing almost entirely to increasing numbers of incidents off of the coast of Somalia since the overthrow of Siad Barre’s regime in 1991, he wrote.

In 2008, 111 vessels were attacked, and that number nearly doubled to 217 in 2009.

“Bearing in mind that each incident involves a number of individuals, it is clear that there are large numbers of persons involved,” the Secretary-General said in the report, which will be discussed by the Council on Wednesday.

Although the number of incidents continues to be high, increased naval patrols off the Horn of Africa and in the Gulf of Aden have helped reduce the success rate of these attacks.

In spite of this positive development, as of May, 450 people continue to be held hostage on ships captured by pirates off the Somali coast.

One of the seven options put forward by Mr. Ban in the new report – enhancing UN assistance to bolster regional States’ capacities to prosecute and imprison those behind acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea – has already been going forward.

In June, Kenya opened a new high-security courtroom, built by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in the port town of Mombasa, which is intended to increase trial efficiency in the system and provide a secure, modern environment suitable for piracy cases.

Other options listed in the new report include creating a Somali court in the territory of another State in the region and setting up an international tribunal agreed upon by regional country and the UN.

The Secretary-General stressed that arrangements for imprisonment are just as important as the prosecution of pirates, given the large numbers of suspects apprehended by countries’ navies.

Acknowledging the difficult current economic climate, he underlined the need for political and financial commitment from the international community to not only create a new judicial body, but also to sustain it.

“A new judicial mechanism to address piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia would be addressing a different situation to that addressed by the existing United Nations and United Nations-assisted tribunals,” Mr. Ban pointed out. “Such a mechanism would face ongoing criminal activity and potentially a large caseload, with no predictable completion date.”

Judge throws out piracy charges against 6 Somalis

On another development, a federal judge on Tuesday dismissed piracy charges against six Somali men accused of attacking a Navy ship off the coast of Africa, concluding the U.S. government failed to make the case their alleged actions amounted to piracy.

The dismissal of the piracy count by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson tosses the most serious charge against the men, but leaves intact seven other charges related to the alleged April 10 attack on the USS Ashland in the Gulf of Aden. A piracy conviction carries a mandatory life term.

Defense attorneys argued last month that the Ashland defendants did not meet the U.S. legal definition of piracy because they did not take command of and rob the amphibious dock landing ship.

Jackson agreed in his ruling, finding that the government “failed to establish that any unauthorized acts of violence or aggression committed on the high seas constitutes piracy as defined by the law of nations.”

Jackson, who issued the ruling from Norfolk, wrote that the government was attempting to use “an enormously broad standard under a novel construction of the statute” that would contradict a nearly 200-year-old Supreme Court decision, United States v. Smith.

The six are accused of attacking the Ashland in a skiff, though they claim they were ferrying refugees. The Ashland is 610 feet long and designed to carry hovercraft and other vehicles for amphibious assaults. The skiff was destroyed by one of the ship’s 25mm cannons. One occupant of the skiff was killed and several others were injured.

Attorneys for five other Somali defendants accused in a similar attack on the USS Nicholas are also seeking dismissal of the piracy count, citing similar arguments. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9 before a different judge in Norfolk.

The Justice Department said it was reviewing Jackson’s ruling. “We will obviously be moving forward with the prosecution of the case — and we will consider any options we may have with today’s ruling,” a spokesman said in a statement.

“The bottom line is there’s no piracy because there was no robbery at sea,” said Robert Rigney, who is representing Mohammed Abdi Jamah.

The government cited vague international in its attempt to shore up the argument, he said.

“Piracy under the law of nations doesn’t give you a real interpretation of what piracy is,” he said. Rigney expects the government to appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

At a hearing late last month, Jackson signaled that he was skeptical of the government’s piracy accusation, repeatedly questioning prosecutors on what actions constituted piracy.

In his ruling, Jackson said the U.S. definition of piracy has remained consistent through the years, while international definitions are still subject to dispute among experts.

“Given the flexible manner in which international sources treat the definition of piracy, and that these sources inherently conflict with Supreme Court precedent, the court’s reliance on these international sources as authoritative would not meet constitutional muster and must therefore be rejected,” he wrote.

“The Smith definition of piracy as sea robbery, on the other hand, is clear and authoritative,” he wrote.

The five Somali men being prosecuted separately are accused in an alleged assault on the frigate USS Nicholas on April 1, west of the Seychelles. Both Virginia-based ships were part of an international flotilla patrolling pirate-infested waters.

All 11 Somali defendants have pleaded not guilty and are being held until trials this fall. The remaining charges carry terms of 10, 20 and 30 years.

Sources: The Associated Press & UN Public Relations

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By Mohamed H. Gulaid

Tags: Kenya Navy, Somali pirates UN Al-shabab ransom