Kenya has released from its jails 7 Somali men held for being involved in Piracy activities after completing their sentences.
The men, spent seven years behind bars after they were wrongly accused by the international naval task forces in Somalia waters of being pirates. They were later on transferred to Kenya where they were prosecuted.
Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya Jamal Mohamed Hassan and officials from the UNODC met the freed fishermen and made arrangements for sending them back to their homes in Somalia.
‘’We are very happy that we gained our freedom back and will be travelling home and reunite with our families,’’ said one of the emotional fishermen.
Kenya is one of a few countries that are prosecuting pirates, alongside Seychelles and Mauritius. But the cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute and take a long time to complete.
More than 1,000 Somali pirates are in prisons around the world. Some of them have been already convicted while others are still waiting to be prosecuted.
Piracy at sea has declined massively since 2011, falling 40 percent for the first time in six years, According to Maritime reports.
The drop in piracy incidents is a relief to shipping companies using the Indian Ocean that have been the target of pirates.
HM
