Mogadishu (Sunatimes) Five suspected Somali pirates have been arraigned in a Dutch court on Wednesday for seizing a South African yacht.

During the hearing of the case, a Dutch prosecutor said the suspects hijacked a South African commercial vessel; an act that made the busy shipping lanes off Somalia the most dangerous water for commercial ships, saying that the suspects deserves seven to ten years jail term for their actions.

Media reports in the Netherlands suggested that the suspects have pleaded guilty to the said charges against them.

One of the Somali elite in Holland, Ali Warsame, told Bar-kulan that the constitutionality of trying the suspects under the Netherlands’ law has been challenged in the court since the five suspects did not hijacked a Dutch vessel.

The judge hearing the case against the five suspected Somali sea pirates bushed back the hearing, hinting that a verdict might be issued in the near end.

By Hawo Abdulle