Spain works to free 33 crew held by Somali pirates

Spain said on Saturday it is working to free 33 crew members of a fishing vessel held by Somali pirates as thousands of friends and relatives rallied for their release.

Bermeo (Spain): Spain said on Saturday it is working
to free 33 crew members of a fishing vessel held by Somali
pirates as thousands of friends and relatives rallied for
their release.

Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he planed to
meet Somali leader Ali Sharmarke Abdirashid Omar in Kenya.
In the northern Spanish port of Bermeo, the home base for
the kidnapped crew of the vessel Alakrana, thousands braved
pouring rain and hail to unfurl a banner reading "Freedom for
our fishermen."

The fishing port`s siren sounded, then the crowd held a
15-minute silence in honour of the men aboard the hijacked
ship.

On Thursday the skipper of the vessel, Ricardo Blach,
said heavily armed pirates had taken three of his crew members
off the ship to the mainland. He said the pirates were
threatening to kill them if two pirates captured by Spain were
not freed.
Moratinos announced yesterday that the three crew members
had returned safely to the ship.

The two Somali men were captured and brought to Madrid
for their alleged role in the hijacking of the Alakrana on Oct
2 in tuna-rich waters of the Indian Ocean. The two suspects
are due to face trial in Spain for kidnapping and other
charges.

Deputy Defence Minister Constantino Mendez said the
charges facing the two Somali men were not negotiable. But he
kept open the possibility of transferring them to a court in
another country, as Spain did in a similar case in May.

Bureau Report

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