PORT LOUIS, Mauritius – Twelve Somalis who attacked a container ship in the Indian Ocean were sentenced to five years in jail in Mauritius Thursday, a reminder of the region’s battle against piracy.
The men were accused of firing on the MSC Jasmine, a Panamanian-flagged container ship, in January 2013 before being captured by naval anti-piracy forces and transferred to Mauritius for trial.
They were found guilty of sea piracy on July 14, and sentencing them Thursday a judge said the three years they have already served will be taken off their jail time.
Foreign navies that capture suspected pirates have handed over hundreds to regional nations including Mauritius, as well as Kenya, Seychelles and Tanzania, though the criminal industry in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden has largely died out.