Five pirates get five years each for 2009 attack on freight ship in the Gulf of Aden
The Netherlands is the first European country to convict modern pirates, reports the New York Times. Five men will serve five-year sentences for a failed attempt to commandeer an Antilles-flagged freight ship sailing through the Gulf of Aden in January 2009. Somali pirates are currently awaiting trials in France, Spain, Germany, the U.S. and Kenya, which has convicted 18 pirates since 2007. The prosecution asked for seven-year sentences, but the judge was lenient saying he took into account “the difficult conditions in Somalia that led the men to piracy.”