Saturday March 11, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) - Seven Somali pirates who were previously sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania have been resentenced to three years in prison. The pirates, who had been in custody for 12 years since their arrest in 2011, had admitted to launching an armed attack on an oil exploration vessel in Tanzanian waters. The attack took place in the Indian Ocean near Mafia Island.
In November 2021, the Somali Embassy in Dar es Salaam met to determine if the case could be reopened and if a defence lawyer could be found for the pirates. The embassy and the Somali community were informed to gather in a prison in Kibaha on February 24 to listen to the case against the Somali youth. The prosecutor, police, security forces, navy, and lawyers were present during the discussion.
The seven pirates, Nur Adan Dhiblawe, Bashir Yusuf Roble, Abdiwahid M. Abdirahman, Farhan Ali Dahir, Muhsin Sheikh Haji, Omar Nur Ali, and Said Omar Mudey, had shown good behaviour during their 12 years of imprisonment. Some of them had suffered physical disabilities, such as one who had his leg amputated and another who lost his voice.
On March 9, the President of the High Court of Dar es Salaam sentenced the men to three years in prison after they confessed to piracy. The new sentence means that the pirates will serve 15 years, including the time they had already spent in prison. This sentence is a reprieve for the young pirates who were not of age at their arrest.