A day after becoming the first convicts under the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022, the 44 Somali pirates sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Mumbai have sought permission to serve their sentences in Somalia under a bilateral prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries.
During Monday’s sentencing, the men, aged between their early 20s and 50s, raised their hands as accused No. 17, Li Banm Abdi Jama, the only one among them who can speak English, asked the court whether they could return to Somalia to serve their punishment, what the procedure would be, and when they could go home.
Their convictions were the first under the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, enacted in 2022. Ranging in ages between early 20s and 50s, the men have been jailed since April 2024. Barring one, none can speak English, and have had no visitors in the two years of their arrest
Jama told the court that the men had pleaded guilty in the hope that this would strengthen their applications to serve their sentences in Somalia. He said they were facing severe hardship in prison because of differences in language, culture, food and lifestyle, and because they had no family or friends in India.
“They have no complaints against the jail authorities, but it is difficult to adapt to life in a prison so far from home,” Jama later told The Indian Express. “Communication is challenging, food preferences and culture are different. We are only able to speak to our families through video conferencing as per jail rules. At least in a jail in Somalia, our families can visit us.”
Special Public Prosecutor Ranjeet Sangle told the court that the convicts could write to the Somali Embassy through the jail superintendent if they wished to seek a transfer. However, he said the decision rested entirely with the Government of India.
Source:Indian express
