EU forces hand suspected pirates to Seychelles for trial

The six suspected pirates were handed over to the Seychelles authorities on 14 May by EU NAVFOR’s Operation ATALANTA.

“Operation ATALANTA has legal agreements with different nations in the Area of Operations, one of them being Seychelles, which allows for the trial of suspected pirates arrested by warships joining the operation,” EU Navfor said in statement.

A commission composed of the Minister of Internal Affairs, a representative of the National Information Sharing Coordination Centre and members of the Seychellois Police Department together with three representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), met with members of Operation ATALANTA prior to the handover and briefed on the case.

The suspected pirates are now in custody awaiting trial.

There have been growing concerns over a resurgence of Somali piracy with EU Navfor saying that two or more pirate action groups are active in the area of Socotra Island and 500nm East of Socotra. Currently the threat is classified as moderate with an attack is a “realistic possibility” off the Somali coast