(May 7) -- In an unexpected turnaround, Moscow said today that "imperfections" in international law led it to free 10 Somali pirates captured by a Russian warship after they hijacked a Russian oil tanker.
The initial plan, seemingly backed by President Dmitry Medvedev, was to bring the pirates back to Moscow to face criminal charges. Under the U.N.'s Law of the Seas Convention, Russia and other signatories to the charter have the right to do that.
The pirates, captured after boarding the Moscow University tanker on Wednesday, were released because of "an incomplete international legal basis" for keeping them, Col. Alexei Kuznetsov of the Russian defense ministry was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.
Pressed to give details of the law's "imperfections," Kuznetsov seemed to be alluding to the cost of holding the seized Somalis when he told The Associated Press: "Why should we feed some pirates?"
Kenya, which borders Somalia, is currently holding more than 100 suspected pirates following agreements with the U.S., Britain, the European Union and other countries to put them on trial.
But the Kenyans say some countries have failed to come up with the financial aid needed to cover the high cost of holding the suspects and are seeking new international agreements, the BBC reported.
Other suspects are being held in France, the U.S. and the Netherlands following a rash of attacks on international shipping by Somali-based pirates.
One pirate was killed Thursday when the Russian warship raced to the scene of the hijacking in the Gulf of Aden and opened fire. The tanker's 23 crew members escaped injury after locking themselves in the radar room.
After the crew was freed, Medvedev said "perhaps we should get back to the idea of establishing an international court and other legal tools" for prosecuting the pirates.
But he indicated the possibility of taking tough action against the 10 who attacked the tanker when he added, "Until then, we'll have to do what our forefathers did when they met the pirates."
Russia Frees Somali Pirates Who Seized Tanker
May 7, 2010 – 10:20 AM
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