THE ARREST of 35 Somali pirates on Saturday by the Mumbai Police for allegedly hijacking a cargo ship comes nearly six years after 118 Somalian nationals returned to their country from Mumbai after serving seven years in the city’s prisons in a similar case.
In 2011, when 120 Somalian nationals were arrested in four separate operations, the police, court and prison authorities had faced several challenges, including finding an interpreter to communicate during the trial, language and food differences in jail and their return after they completed their sentence.
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In 2011, in four separate anti-piracy operations by the Indian Navy, 120 men were apprehended for attempts to hijack ships. Two died pending trial. Since Yellow Gate police station has the jurisdiction of criminal offences at sea, the men were brought to the police station.
The first hurdle the authorities then faced was on lodging them at the police station and on communicating with them. As they did not speak English, they could not respond to questions. They were produced in court, with the police ferrying them in batches in police vans called from other police stations. The court sent them to judicial custody, following which they were sent to Taloja Central Jail. The men remained there for over six years till they were convicted in 2018.
During this jail stint, after initially struggling with adapting to local food and communication, the men studied basic English taught by co-inmates and picked up Hindi as well as Marathi from conversations among others. To explain court proceedings, the prosecution also had to press into service interpreters who were students from Somalia, studying in the city.
The jail authorities and guards also struggled with their ferry across courts and taking them to the first floor courtroom which did not have the capacity to hold all of them together. The court eventually ordered them to be produced via video-conference.
While the men initially claimed they were not involved in piracy, they subsequently pleaded guilty. In 2017, they were sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the court. Most of the men were convicted on charges including kidnapping, attempt to murder and under a sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
One group, which was also caught with weapons including rocket launchers, was also convicted under the Arms Act. Many pleaded for leniency citing their financial condition and the situation in their home country. After completing their remaining sentences, the men were back at Yellow Gate police station, where they were first brought, as there was no detention centre to house them till their return to Somalia. In 2018, the men returned to their countries in special flights, carrying personal belongings collected over seven years.
Lawyer Vishwajeet Singh, who had represented the men at that time, on behalf of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Somalia, said the new set of arrested persons are likely to be produced before court on Sunday.