Spain is under pressure over the decision over not negotiating with pirates for the freedom of two Somalis arrested on piracy charges, despite the pressure from the loved ones of the Spaniards held hostage in Somalia.
The Somali pirates on board the Spanish trawler Alakrana are threatening to kill three crew members unless Spain frees the two captive Somalis charged with illegal detention, criminal association and armed robbery.
Spain’s Deputy Defence Minister Constantino Mendez said “The situation is not negotiable, One can discuss issues of jurisdiction at length. They have many angles and the law is not mathematics, we shouldn’t rule anything out”. Implying that there may be a military operation or the men may be moved to another location.
However the sailor’s families are pressuring Spain to do so, to free the ship and its crew.
The Alakrana which is a Tuna ship was hijacked from the Indian Ocean on 2 October and had more then 30 sailors from various countries. It is reported that there are only 3 sailors who are Spanish left on the Alakrana from the original 30.
The 3 men were reported to be taken ashore on Thursday for a phone call to the Spanish media that unless Spain released the two Somali prisoners the men will be killed within 3 days.
In 2008 the crew of another Spanish boat was freed by pirates in the same area after a ransom of a reported $1.2m (£750,000) was paid, according to Somali officials.
