Five Somalis jailed for piracy in Netherlands

A Dutch court has convicted five Somalis of piracy and sentenced them each to five years in prison in the first piracy case to come to trial in Europe.

They were convicted of attacking a freight ship in the Gulf of Aden in January 2009.

Prosecutors asked for a seven-year sentence, but the judge said he took into account the difficult conditions in Somalia that led the men to piracy. "It is a lucky coincidence nobody was killed or wounded" in the attack, said judge Klein Wolterink.

Other Somali piracy suspects are being held in France, Spain, Germany and the US.