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Kenya opens special piracy court Kenya opens special piracy court
(about 1 hour later)
Some 100 alleged pirates are aready in KenyaSome 100 alleged pirates are aready in Kenya
A special court to try suspected pirates has opened in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, after donors agreed funding. A special court to try suspected pirates has opened in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, funded by international donors.
Pirates based in neighbouring Somalia have made the Gulf of Aden one of the world's most dangerous shipping lanes.Pirates based in neighbouring Somalia have made the Gulf of Aden one of the world's most dangerous shipping lanes.
Warships from several world powers have gone to patrol the Indian Ocean to ward off the pirates but there has been confusion about where pirate suspects should face justice.Warships from several world powers have gone to patrol the Indian Ocean to ward off the pirates but there has been confusion about where pirate suspects should face justice.
Some 100 suspects are already in Kenya.Some 100 suspects are already in Kenya.
Earlier this year, Kenya said it would stop prosecuting piracy cases unless other countries agreed to share the "burden".Earlier this year, Kenya said it would stop prosecuting piracy cases unless other countries agreed to share the "burden".
Several suspected pirates detained by naval patrols on the high seas have been released because of a lack of clarity about where and how to prosecute them.
Strategy pays off
The new court in the Shimo la Tewa prison in Mombasa is being funded by several donors, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Union, Australia and Canada.The new court in the Shimo la Tewa prison in Mombasa is being funded by several donors, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Union, Australia and Canada.
The BBC's Josphat Makori in Kenya says the court is a significant step forward in the fight against piracy. It comes a month after the EU's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, went on a tour of East Africa to help drum up support for tackling the pirates.
The BBC's Josphat Makori in Kenya says the court is a significant step forward in the fight against piracy, although officially, it will also be used for other serious cases.
He also says that Kenya's strategy of threatening to stop putting pirate suspects on trial has paid off.He also says that Kenya's strategy of threatening to stop putting pirate suspects on trial has paid off.
Any convicted pirates will also serve their sentences at the prison, joining 18 already found guilty.
Lawyers for pirate suspects have argued that Kenya does not have the jurisdiction to try their clients but they have lost these arguments in the cases heard so far.
Last week a Dutch court sentenced five Somali men to five years in prison for attacking a Dutch Antilles-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden last year, in the first such case to come to trial in Europe.
Other Somali piracy suspects are being held in France, Spain, Germany and the US.
There has been a surge in pirate attacks in recent months after a relative lull, with some ships seized closer to India than Somalia.