Amnesty demands Dutch and Danish take care of pirates

Amnesty International is urging quick action to address the legal position of five pirates on board a Danish vessel.

Five Somali pirates have been on board the Danish warship Absalon for more than a month without being brought before a judge, despite agreement from the Netherlands several weeks ago that they could be tried under Dutch jurisdiction.

Under Danish law, the five should have been presented before a judge under habeas corpus rules within 24 hours. The pirates were detained on December 31 after attempting to hijack a Dutch Antilles-flaged vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

Although Denmark and the Netherlands have agreed that the five could be tried in the Netherlands, the two countries have been haggling since the detention on the international legal ramifications of where and how to hand the five over to Dutch authorities.

Amnesty demands solution

"Insecurity as to what is to happen to them is difficult for the five," says Amnesty press chief Ole Hoff Lund. Amnesty International is demanding a solution to the issue within a few days.

The Absalon is currently in Bahrain, and was to have continued its operations guarding shipping off Somalia against pirate attacks. The vessel is, however, unlikely to leave port with the five Somalis still on board.