5 Somali Pirates Charged By South Korea

South Korean prosecutors have charged 5 alleged Somali pirates on 6 counts including attempted murder, maritime robbery and hostage taking in relation to the hijacking of the chemical carrier, the Samho Jewelry.

The court case is in response to a raid by the South Korean naval commando in late January on the Samh0 Jewelry. The entire 21 person Jewelry crew is safe, with only 1 serious injury to the ship’s Captain Seok, who remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the stomach. While there were a total of 13 pirates in suspect, 8 of these individuals were killed during rescue. The remaining Somali suspects are currently under custody of the South Korean government, where sentencing can range from 5 years to lifetime imprisonment or even death.

The lifetime prison or death sentence is a result of the critical wounds to Captain Seok by alleged pirate, Arai Mahomed. Two of the three bullets were determined to be stray bullets from the raid. One bullet, however, was found to be fired from Mahomed’s AK-47, which was examined by South Korean officials and believed to be the cause of severity to Captain Seok’s injury.

As investigation in this case was being conducted, the prosecution’s main investigator, Jeong Jeom-shik, has revealed that some of the suspects have been identified as pirates from the hijacking of crude oil tanker, Samho Dream, back in April 2010. This attack resulted in a ransom payment by the ships’ company, Samho Shipping, totaling over $9 million. The Jewelry’s sister ship was released after 7 months of captivity in Somalia. Jeom-shik stated that identification was achieved by showing photos of the pirates who captured the Jewelry to the crew of the Dream tanker. Crewmembers recognized 4 or 5 of the pirates as their assailants from 2010.

Jeom-shik believes that the Jewelry attack was not premeditated as the hijackers had 5 or 6 attempts prior to discovering the Malta-flagged Jewelry. The Director of the International Maritime Bureau, Pottengal Mukundan, has gone on record to commend the swift and robust response by the South Korean government and stresses that naval action is essential in our fight against piracy and maritime crime.