The men, aged between 22 and 47, had been acquitted in November 2014
but prosecutors appealed, and in December last year a new trial was
ordered.
Somali piracy reached its peak in 2011 when Somali pirate gangs attacked 237 vessels, seizing 11 vessels and 216 hostages
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.
The men, aged between 22 and 47, had
been acquitted in November 2014 but prosecutors appealed, and in
December last year a new trial was ordered.
Somali
piracy reached its peak in 2011 when Somali pirate gangs attacked 237
vessels, seizing 11 vessels and 216 hostages, earning on average more
than $2 million (1.8 million euros) for every ship ransomed.
Anti-piracy
patrols by international warships and armed guards aboard commercial
vessels which now sail faster and further away from the Somali coast
have largely suppressed incidents of piracy.
Although
Mauritius was not directly affected, the Indian Ocean island nation
feared for its maritime trade as well as the many luxury cruises that
feed its economy.
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