Indian court gives 44 Somalis life sentences in piracy cases

An Indian court sentenced 44 Somali nationals to life imprisonment for crimes linked to the hijacking of vessels off Somalia.

The cases involved two separate incidents. In December 2023, 35 Somalis attacked the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier MV Ruen. In March 2024, nine others hijacked the Iranian-flagged fishing ship Al Kambar.

The source reported that pirates took crew members hostage before Indian navy ships rescued them and detained the attackers in 2024. According to judgments handed down by a special court in Mumbai on Monday, all 44 Somali defendants admitted guilt during their trial.

Judge SB Dige said piracy on the high seas, hijacking a vessel, holding crew members hostage for ransom, attempting to kill them and using them as human shields were very serious acts that could not be treated lightly.

Local media reported that the defendants, who had been held in Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai since 2024, were present in court when the life sentences were announced. They had asked the court to send them back to Somalia to face legal proceedings there.

The source said piracy off Somalia was widespread in the 2000s and peaked in 2011 with hundreds of attacks. It said international naval deployments and changed tactics by commercial shipping operators have since sharply reduced the risk. India's navy has been deployed off Somalia since 2008 and increased anti-piracy work in 2023 after a rise in attacks, including in the Arabian Sea and by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.