Five suspected Somali pirates are being prosecuted in a court in Virginia after allegedly firing on what they believed was a merchant ship but was, in fact, the guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas off the Seychelles.
The men were captured and brought back to the US to stand trial for piracy, the first such trial to be held in the US for over 100 years. If convicted, they will face a mandatory life sentence.
With piracy on the increase, there have been calls for international courts to be set up to deal with the problem. So I find it interesting that this trial is being held in the States which will have to house and feed these men in relative comfort for the rest of their lives if convicted.
Might it not have been better to have held the trial in a friendly African country and let them serve their sentences out there in less comfort?
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The men were captured and brought back to the US to stand trial for piracy, the first such trial to be held in the US for over 100 years. If convicted, they will face a mandatory life sentence.
With piracy on the increase, there have been calls for international courts to be set up to deal with the problem. So I find it interesting that this trial is being held in the States which will have to house and feed these men in relative comfort for the rest of their lives if convicted.
Might it not have been better to have held the trial in a friendly African country and let them serve their sentences out there in less comfort?
.
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