MADRID — Spain abruptly backtracked Friday on the idea of bringing seven skinny, bedraggled young Somalis to Madrid for questioning on suspicion of piracy after a Spanish navy vessel plucked them from waters of the Gulf of Aden.
MADRID — Spain abruptly backtracked Friday on the idea of bringing seven skinny, bedraggled young Somalis to Madrid for questioning on suspicion of piracy after a Spanish navy vessel plucked them from waters of the Gulf of Aden. Judicial officials concluded it was a bit much to go after "15-year-old boys who are 2,000 kilometers away" and fly them to Spain, said Fernando Noya, a spokesman for the Spanish attorney general. "Bringing them here seemed a bit disproportionate," Noya told The Associated Press. But the judge who originally ordered the men held on the navy ship and brought to Spain is angry, saying the crime they are suspected of is serious enough to merit a probe here under Spain’s doctrine of cross-border justice. Judge Fernando Andreu of the National Court begrudgingly ordered them freed but refused to surrender them to Kenya as suggested by a prosecutor, and it was not immediately clear where the suspects would end up. A Spanish navy supply ship participating in an EU anti-piracy flotilla off Somalia rescued the seven on Wednesday after their small boat flipped over while they were allegedly trying to hijack a Panamanian-flagged freighter. A photo released by the Spanish Defense Ministry showed the men wearing shorts, T-shirts and tank tops as they clung to their capsized vessel, awaiting capture by the Spaniards. The ministry said objects floating in the water near them included "a GPS and a ladder of the kind pirates tend to use during their attacks." It made no mention of weapons. Prosecutor Blanca Rodriguez initially said the suspects should be investigated under Spain’s observance of the principle of universal justice, which allows serious crimes committed abroad to be prosecuted here. Judge Andreu agreed, ordered the seven Somalis held on the supply ship and brought to Madrid for questioning. However, Rodriguez changed her mind Friday. She said suspects should instead be handed over to Kenya under a March accord with European Union countries to accept and prosecute piracy suspects amid a surge in hijackings off the coast of the lawless Horn of Africa country. The judge said that even though he was ordering the men freed — he did not say in which country — he was keeping the case open, albeit symbolically. Andreu refused to order the suspects surrendered to Kenya, saying it bypassed all Spanish laws on extradition and arguing that the EU accord cannot be applied to people with legal proceedings pending in Spain. The Defense Ministry said Friday afternoon the suspects were still in custody aboard the Spanish ship, but it did not immediately know where the men would be taken. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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