Prosecutors ask Spain to hand Somali piracy suspects over to Kenya
Madrid - Prosecutors at Spain's National Court on Friday proposed that seven suspected Somali pirates captured by a Spanish vessel be handed over to Kenya, judicial sources said.
Judicial proceedings against the suspects could continue in Kenya on the basis of an agreement between the European Union and the East African country on the handover of pirates, the prosecutors said.
They thus overturned their own earlier request that the seven should be placed in custody and brought to Spain for questioning.
The suspects were captured on Wednesday by the military tanker Marques de la Ensenada, which is participating in European Union patrols against pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Its crew rescued and arrested the Somalis, who had fallen into the water after their boat capsized when they were trying to enter a Panama-flagged vessel.
On the same day, the Marques de la Ensenada prevented another attack against a Malta-flagged freighter, detaining the seven attackers.
Judge Fernando Andreu was due to decide what to do with both groups of suspected pirates, and whether they could face trial in Spain.(dpa)