Spanish judge questions suspected Somali pirates (Roundup)

Oct 13, 2009, 13:01 GMT

Madrid - A Spanish judge on Tuesday questioned two suspected Somali pirates who were flown to Madrid from East Africa on Monday, judicial sources said.

Abdou Willy told National Court judge Baltasar Garzon that he was under 18 years old, and was taken to a hospital where his age would be investigated. If he turns out to be as young as he says, his case would he handed over to a court dealing with minors, the sources said.

The other suspect, Raagegeesey, faced questioning at a hospital where he was being treated for a bullet wound after Spanish marines fired at him while he was being captured.

Raagegeesey refused to answer the questions of Garzon, who was being assisted by a Somali interpreter.

The two belong to a group of 13 pirates who have been holding the Spanish fishing vessel Alakrana for 11 days.

Abdou Willy and Raagegeesey were captured by a Spanish frigate participating in the European Union's anti-piracy Operation Atalanta after they left the trawler on board a skiff two days after the hijacking.

Raagegeesey was fired at by Spanish marines as they were capturing him. The Spanish government says the soldiers were responding to a threatening gesture made by the Somali, who sustained a slight injury.

Garzon ordered the two to be brought to Spain and to be remanded in custody. A French vessel took them to a French military base in Djibouti, where a Spanish air force plane picked them up.

The arrest of the two pirates was expected to complicate the ongoing negotiations between the pirates and the owner of the Alakrana, who is being assisted by the Spanish ambassador to Kenya and experts from the secret service CNI.

The pirates have said they will not release the 36 crew members of the Alakrana before their companions are released.

Another Spanish fishing vessel, MS Playa de Bakio, was released in April 2008 after being held by pirates for a week. The CNI paid a ransom of 1.2 million dollars which is being reimbursed by the company owning the vessel, the daily El Pais reported.

This time, the pirates were expected to demand a higher ransom given that the Alakrana is a newer vessel with a bigger crew than the Playa de Bakio.

Environment Minister Elena Espinosa, however, said the government did not intend to pay a ransom for the Alakrana.

The crew of the Alakrana includes 16 Spaniards, eight Indonesians as well as Malaysian, Senegalese, Ghanaian, Ivory Coast and Seychelles nationals. The trawler is stationed off the Somali port of Haradhere.