For those who don't know which century we are in today it's the 21 century.
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Five Somali men went on trial in a Dutch court for the 17th century crime of “sea robbery” Tuesday in Europe’s first piracy trial since a surge of attacks on shipping off the Somalia’s lawless coast. One defendant wept and shouted that poverty had forced him into his situation.
Scores of pirates have been detained and several have been brought to Europe, but many are released because of the cost and difficulty of bringing them to trial. Other European countries will be watching the Dutch case closely to weigh the merits of bringing piracy suspects to trial.
The five men were captured in January 2009 after allegedly attacking a cargo ship registered in the Dutch Antilles in the Gulf of Aden. The ship’s crew held off the attack with flares until a Danish navy frigate intervened and sank the pirates’ boat.
If convicted, they face a maximum of 12 years in prison.[/size
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I thought 17 centuries laws would have been a lot harsher As the trial got under way in a top-security prison in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, four of the five men told presiding judge Jan Willem Klein Wolterink they were innocent.
The fifth, 39-year-old Sayid Ali Garaar, made an emotional appeal that sounded like an attempt to justify attacking the ship.
“If our children are hungry, who is responsible?” he shouted. His remarks were translated into Dutch.
“You sleep in your house, I am in prison. I have no country, no family, nothing,” he added, wiping tears from his eyes. “I got into this situation because I am prepared to do anything.”
The five suspects looked healthy as they walked into the courtroom and shook hands with their lawyers.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/ ... snewsworld