Kenya Convicts 7 Somali Pirates for Attempted Ship Hijacking

A Kenyan judge sentenced seven Somalis to five years in jail yesterday for attempting to hijack a cargo vessel last year, the European Union’s anti-piracy mission known as EU Navfor said.

The group was detained on May 7, 2009, by the Spanish navy after officers fired warning shots from a helicopter during an attack on the Maltese-registered merchant ship Anny Petrakis, EU Navfor said today in an e-mailed statement. The Somalis were handed over to Kenya and were tried in Mombasa, it said.