Britons, US citizen handed long jail terms in Somalia | Inquirer News

Britons, US citizen handed long jail terms in Somalia

/ 09:43 AM June 19, 2011

MOGADISHU – Six foreigners including three Britons and an American were on Saturday jailed for between 10 and 15 years in Somalia after the seizure of a small aircraft carrying $3.6 million allegedly destined to be paid as ransom to Somali pirates.

“The American and one of the Britons who carried the cash were sentenced to 15-year jail terms and to pay $15,000 each,” Hashi Elmi Nur, chief justice of Mogadishu’s Banadir court, told reporters.

The six were arrested on May 24 after a plane landed at Mogadishu and was waiting for another small plane to come in, collect the cash and fly it to another destination in the country, Mohamed Omar, a Somali government security official, said earlier.

Article continues after this advertisement

“The other four, among them the pilots of the aircraft, were given 10-year prison terms and have been fined $10,000 each,” he said.

FEATURED STORIES

All the money they were transporting and both aircraft had been confiscated by the government, he added.

An official told AFP that the foreigners said the money was destined to be used as a ransom payment.

Article continues after this advertisement

However, the nationalities of the other two foreigners and the exact circumstances behind the planned payment were not known.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: Judiciary, Penalty, Sea piracy

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.