Spanish court sentences six Somalis for piracy

A Spanish court on Wednesday convicted six Somalis for piracy and sentenced them each to 16 and a half years in jail for attacking a Spanish tuna trawler off the coast of Somalia in 2012. The six men have been held in a Spanish jail since November 2012 since being caught by Dutch sailors after they ambushed the Izurdia off the Horn of Africa using AK-47 assault rifles.
Spain's National Court, the country top criminal court, convicted the six of piracy and membership of a criminal group. In its ruling the court said the six men formed "an assault cell or organised pirate group with material to board and kidnap commercial boats that sailed in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia." The court said they were part of an organisation, based in Zimbabwe capital Harare, dedicated to enriching itself from assaulting and kidnapping boats in the Horn of Africa.