Somali ‘pirates’ in court

ABU DHABI // Ten Somali men accused of piracy who were caught in a special forces raid that freed the hijacked UAE ship MV Arrilah appeared in court yesterday.

Special counter-terrorism units stormed the bulk oil carrier in April last year after it was hijacked in the Arabian Sea, east of Oman, en route from Australia to Jebel Ali.

The 37,000-tonne ship is owned by two subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the rescue was said at the time to show the UAE’s commitment to acting firmly in the face of piracy. The alleged pirates have appeared twice before at the Federal Court of First Instance.

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Written by Haneen Dajani for The National.