[02/July/2009]

ADEN, July 02 (Saba) – 22 Somali people appeared in a Yemeni court Wednesday, facing piracy and burglary charges.

Yemeni prosecution accuses 10 of the group of attacking ships and hijacking them in the pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden.

While the others face charges related to attempted piracy.

During the preliminary hearing, chair of the al-Towahi court in Aden province, asked the lawyer of the defendants to file a brief asking the prison administration to allow them to call their families.

Earlier, the administration of the prison where the 22 Somalis were taken after international forces patrolling the Indian Ocean on anti-piracy mission seized them in the Aden Gulf, banned Africans from telephoning their relatives.

The hearing was adjourned two weeks later, a delay which came due to the lack of translators for the accused.

The court then filed a brief to the Justice Ministry requesting to provide people to translate for the accused when hearing accusations and reply.

Translators must visit the court from the next hearing.

Last month, international forces, believed to be French, handed over the Yemeni authorities a number of Somali pirates who were arrested while trying to take over ships.

On Tuesday, Arab countries overlooking the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf states approved an Arab anti-piracy taskforce to be set up. Duties and the size of the taskforce will be revealed in the next few months.

The decision was made when senior experts of foreign ministries and marine leaders from the concerned states met in Riyadh to tackle piracy.

The countries included Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Djibouti as well as the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Piracy off Somalia has soared in recent years, threatening one of the world's busiest waterways. In the last few years, more than 120 ships were attacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, with more than 40 of the ships already hijacked.

World countries particularly those whose ships pass through the regional sea routes have sent anti-pirate missions.

FR