MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - Somali pirates...
tanker.Media reports said they could face trial in Russia as Navy commanders and diplomats have experienced difficulties finding any Gulf of Aden littoral state willing to take the pirates.
Somali pirates have stepped up attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden, seizing vessels and kidnapping crews, receiving millions of dollars in ransom. Naval forces from at least a dozen countries have been involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia.
Media reports earlier said Russia had no agreements with regional nations that would allow it to hand over the suspects. Russia has no diplomatic mission in Somalia, where most of the detainees come from.
Moscow is entitled under a United Nations Security Council resolution to take the suspects to Russia for trial. The United States has already taken legal action to prosecute a suspected Somali pirate in New York.
Piracy is punishable under Russian law by a prison term of between five and 15 years,
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