Seychelles authorities disapprove pardon for 19 pirates

Hargeisa, Aug 02, (Somaliland.com):- Following the presidential pardon and release of 19 convicted sea pirates by Somaliland authorities, Seychelles has condemned the early release of the 19 convicted pirates who were sentenced in the island nation and transferred to Somaliland to serve out what is left of their sentences.

Somaliland government on Monday released the convicts who were sentenced in Seychelles to serve 30, 36 and 42 years in prison for piracy.

A Memorandum of Understanding on the transfer of sentenced pirates between the government Somaliland and Seychelles had been signed in 2011, and this was followed by the transfer of 19 convicts into the custody of Somaliland authorities, the pirates were to complete their sentences in Somaliland.

The government of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, has formally written to Somaliland authorities, expressing its strong disapproval of the early release.

‘The announcement came as a surprise to us because it is an action that was taken without consulting the government of Seychelles. It is against the MoU that we signed with the Somaliland authorities,’ said Ian Madeleine, director of Maritime Affairs at Seychelles’ Department of Foreign Affairs.

The unilateral decision by the Somaliland authorities to modify the sentences of the convicted pirates is in breach of the provisions of the agreement which states that the power to review the judgment or sentences remains with Seychelles, Madeleine said.

Read also: President Bihi pardons Somalian pirates as goodwill gesture to Mogadishu

Somaliland.com

Seychelles established a special jurisdiction to handle piracy and maritime crime cases which started hearing cases in June 2015.

The Department also mentioned that: ‘Seychelles has also written to Mauritius and the Indian Ocean Commission as the Chair of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia to call on the support of the international community to condemn the early release of the 19 Somali pirates by Somaliland authorities, and to bring the matter to the attention to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council’.

Madeleine explained that such a decision endangers the efforts done to fight against piracy and jeopardizes the security of the Indian Ocean.

The decision also compromises the extensive collective efforts of the international community to combat and suppress piracy off the coast of Somalia in order to guarantee the safety and security of the Western Indian Ocean. It equally stands to erode the mechanisms, including arrest, prosecution and imprisonment that has been put in place to combat the scourge of piracy and other forms of illicit crimes, the department pointed out again.

The situation consequently stands to annul the cooperation that exists between the parties in relation to the repatriation of sentenced pirates on humanitarian grounds, Seychelles’ Department of Foreign Affairs concluded.