Two men who attempted to hijack a Japanese tanker off the coast of Oman were jailed for 10 years by Tokyo District Court on Friday, a report said, in the first piracy prosecution in Japan.

The two were among four African men arrested in March 2011 over the attack in the Indian Ocean.

Men armed with submachine guns tried to seize the tanker, which was operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and had 24 crew members aboard, reports said.

“It was an organised and dangerous crime by men armed with guns who sought to demand a ransom,” presiding judge Katsunori Ohno said in his ruling, according to broadcaster NHK.

US Navy personnel captured the men and handed them over to Japan’s coastguard, which for the first time applied the nation’s new anti-piracy law to transport them to Tokyo to face trial.

The court used two sets of interpreters — one from Japanese to English and another from English to Somali.

The men were identified in court as Mohamed Urgus Adeysey and Abdinur Hussein Ali, and believed to be in their 20s or 30s, but reportedly said they were not certain of their own dates of birth.

Their lawyers have said they had difficulties communicating with their clients, who were apparently illiterate.

Although the two men pleaded guilty to their charges, one of their lawyers has previously told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that it was not clear whether the defendants understood the judicial system.

Defence lawyers had argued the prosecution should have been dropped because neither the place of the attack nor the tanker — which was registered in the Bahamas — were Japanese territory, previous reports said.

Two other men who were brought to Japan will go through a different trial process because they are believed to be juveniles under Japanese law.

After a spike at the start of the last decade, successful pirate attacks on commercial vessels sailing off the Horn of Africa have diminished, deterred by an international deployment of warships to patrol the coast.

Somali pirates have been tried in countries including the Netherlands and South Korea.

Source: AP

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1 COMMENT

    • At least they don't need to be worried being in Japanese prisons. They will come out with Yakuza and Traid Connections and there is very small risk of rape in Japanese prison system. They have very high morals.

      These men will come out of prison with PHDs in Technological crimes and will not every need to steal from the oceans again as they will surf for cash.

    • why are you dumb ugly mooryan crying. The issaqs left you and now we daroods will leave your starving @ss. I am so sick of moryans stamping on the somali name and pride. We should have never called you somalis you half adoomo.

      • Rest assure you will be tamed until then keep cheerleading your dear leader Faroole's weak chest.

        To the OG'S Khaatumos Maakhirs i hope this is a huge wake up call ( the Mareexaan realized this long time ago ) the MJ's don't really care about Daroodism time after time they have been proven to throw you under the buss when it fits them. I also said that the enemy of SSC weren't only Sland but also their own kinsmen on their east-side well now you know i weren't lying.

        Talking about Puntland we don't even have to dirty our hands all we have to do is arm these people http://panafricannews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/soma…

          • hehehehe Irir Samale what is your point exactly, if I'm not mistaken they're all Darood to you.

        • IRIR Sool and Sanaag are shared regions that have among them H.yonis, H.jeclo, Gabooye, fiqishini, ugaaslabe, warsans and dhulos.

          Somaliland cannot be an enemy of it's own regions… It is like saying Somalia is the enemy of Puntland or Jubbaland.

          Puntland was part of the Road-map process in fact 25% of the decision making process along with Galmudug, ASWJ and the TFG–> replaced by Hassan Mahamoud's government. Puntlanders are politically awake and they can see where hassan mahamoud is leading his government following:

          – recognition
          – Arms embargo lifting…soon
          – Billions in aid money… ongoing

          When Hassan Mahamoud has all he wants we all know what is coming next:

          1. Denounce Federalism or give it lip service without implementing any actions. Federalism will be a concept that is debated in the diaspora.
          2. Change the constitution as head of state of a recognized government the provisional constitution is no longer valid and the central government will revert back to the 1969-constitution of Siyad's 1-party rule without question… a new Museveni is born.
          3. Build a 25,000 strong army loyal to Abgaal to add to the all those trained for Sharif.
          4. Rebuild Muuqdishu and simply ignore the rest of Somalia-Italia. The world will only see Muuqdishu as the picturesque Capital and the seat of power.
          5. Once the armed forces are ready Hassan Mahamoud has the authorization from all the Road-Map signatories for him to deploy his troops across Somalia-Italia as the legitimate head of state and the USA recognition is a seal of approval for that…

          Puntland is being to sell Hassan Mahamoud coffee and if they delay his legitimacy will reach a level from which even hey do not posses the leverage to dismantle.

          Puntland + Galmudug + ASWJ = 75% of the Road-Map of Somalia-Italia signatories.

          They need must put Hassan Mahamoud's government in check or being to erode it's legitimacy while they can. Puntland will soon find itself in dire circumstance with no place to run if there is a southern invasion sponsored by Hassan Mahamoud.

          IT IS NO LONGER SIMPLY ABOUT TANTRUMS THIS TIME PUNTLAND HAS A LEGITIMATE CONCERN… THEY ARE FACING A NEW FORM OF DICTATORSHIP THAT WILL MAKE UP A CONSTITUTION MORE APPEASING TO IT WHIMS. FEDERALISM HAS ALREADY BEEN PLACED IN THE ARCHIVES A RECOGNIZED GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE DICTATED TO HOW TO RUN HIS STATE. IF PUNTLAND WAITS FOR HASSAN LEGITIMACY TO GROW THEN IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO DO ANYTHING ONCE HASSAN ATTAINS A SIYAD-FASHION CONFIDENCE AND COMPLEX OF TOTAL OWNERSHIP AND POWER OVER ALL.

          NOW OR NEVER…

        • Samale.

          dowloading unknown info will not any difference because is irrelevant. compine lelkase suburb iyo baraxkey galmudug is 10x smaller then rest of GALKAYO. by the way lelkase have nothing in common with moryaan habar gidir + samalis. they are pure Darood. hassan culusow his moryaanos will face big resistance, the party not yet start.

    • KKK, Horseed media twisted what faroole said. i don't think will ever Puntalnd state join diluted folks. also somaliland it's in worest condition today. they been isolated ,lonely, lost direction, every westren nation them told p*ss off . so, who wants to join this lost region no one.

      Faroole made clear Puntland want good stable neighbour, because from now on somaliland region will face real problem.

  4. hehehhehehhehehe kaboon we knew this since Tukaraq war that Faroole was working with SNM , All Faroole can see is Khaatumo and Xamar, he has no political vision whatever, doesn't he know Siil-aanyo administration is the remaining alshabab fighters from the south that want destabilise North Somalia.

  5. Sool, Nugaal, Bari, Mudug, Cayn Karkaar, Hayland, Sanaag expect ceelafwai are purely Harti-landers,

  6. Buxiye Donk*y, seek help the soooooooooner the better. ask your doctor to give you stronger PRESCRIPTION cuz what you taking now not working for you.