Somali pirates go on trial today

By Park Si-soo

The country’s first ever trial involving Somali pirates will begin in Busan today. Four Somali pirates will stand trial, while one other, Abdullah Hussein Mahamud, will be tried separately on June 1 since, unlike the four, he has pleaded guilty to all charges against him, according to the court.

The five pirates were caught in a military operation in January to retake a hijacked South Korean cargo ship in waters off the Omani coast. After being brought to Korea, they were indicted on charges of hijacking the vessel, Samho Jewelry, and attempting to gun down its captain, Seok Hae-kyun.

The court will handle the case in an intensive jury trial to make a ruling on Friday. The judge will announce the verdict around 5:30 p.m., a court spokesman said.

The accused could face up to life imprisonment if all charges against them ㅡ attempted murder, maritime burglary and hostage taking ㅡ are affirmed. They have the option to appeal.

The court has hired two Somali-to-English and two English-to-Korean interpreters since the accused can only speak Somali. The court will allow journalists to take photos of the pirates inside the courtroom during the first hearing of the trial, which is in principle prohibited.

More than 50 Korean and international media outlets, including AP, AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg and the Arab television station Al-Jazeera, have applied to observe the high-profile trial, the spokesman said.

During the first hearing, the court will appoint the nine jurors and take statements from the accused. Testimony from the injured captain, who is still recuperating at Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, will be read to the court, Wednesday.

The spokesman said it will strengthen security for the trial, with about 100 policemen surrounding the court, to prevent any terrorist attacks.