drama on the high seas

[Watser?]

The appearance of five suspected Somali pirates in court in the Netherlands this week and the scheduled court hearing of a Somali teenager in New York on Thursday have focused attention once more on the legal challenges posed by 21st-century piracy.

Reports that some of the suspects were enjoying their stay in Dutch prison cells and were considering eventually claiming asylum, were met with disdain by the country's foreign minister who was quoted as saying he would prefer it if they were being tried in Kenya under UN auspices.

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The Dutch and US trials are among just a handful of pirate prosecutions taking place outside Africa. France has charged 15 suspected pirates - six of whom were apprehended in April 2008.

But, as Cyrus Mody from the International Maritime Bureau points out, the length of time taken bringing some of these cases to trial indicates the complexities involved.

The logistical and legal burdens involved in transporting pirate suspects to Western countries can be daunting, he says.

"It is difficult getting the pieces together, the evidence, the witnesses. Who's going to pay for it all?

"And if a prosecution fails, the burden lies with that country. There is always the prospect the suspected pirate might then claim asylum," he told the BBC.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Pirates in the dock

[Watser?]

About 40 Egyptian fishermen have escaped from their Somali pirate captors near the northern town of Las Qorey, reports from the region say.

A wounded pirate, found on a beach with machete wounds, said the crew attacked him and his colleagues with tools and then seized their weapons.

He said that at least two pirates died before the crew sailed towards waters patrolled by international navies.

The two fishing vessels were captured four months ago.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Crews 'overpower Somali pirates'