Captured pirates face trial in France

Six Somali pirates who attacked a French luxury yacht arrived in Paris to face trial today.

They were taken to France aboard a military plane and quickly placed in detention, five days after being captured in a daring chase by French special forces.

The 30-member crew of the 288-foot Le Ponant, held for a week, was freed in exchange for an apparent ransom from the yacht’s owners, widely reported as around €1.24m.

The pirates arrived in Paris two days after the 22 French members of the crew returned home to a heroes’ welcome, greeted by President Nicolas Sarkozy who took personal charge of the crisis.

The pirates can be held for up to 96 hours for preliminary questioning. After that, they could be presented to judges who will decide whether to file preliminary charges against them and keep them in pre-trial detention.

France wants to take the lead in battling piracy on the high seas. It plans to press for UN measures to fight pirate attacks in dangerous zones like the Gulf of Aden, where the attack occurred.

Somali authorities granted speedy extraditions so the pirates could be brought to France.

Paris was in contact with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf throughout the crisis, and captured the pirates with the “full accord” of the Somali leader, the Foreign Ministry has said.

The French prosecutors office opened a preliminary inquiry on Monday into possible charges of hijacking a vessel and taking hostages to seek a ransom and as part of an organised gang.