Kenya ready to prosecute Somali pirates: Belgium

Kenya is ready to prosecute a group of suspected Somali pirates picked up in its waters by a Belgian frigate, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere said on Thursday.

Kenyan authorities “have declared themselves ready to accept the pirates intercepted in Kenyan territory with a view to eventual prosecution,” the minister was quoted as saying by Belga news agency.

Six suspected pirates will be transferred to Kenyan authorities, and a seventh will be tried in Belgium for alleged involvement in the hijacking of the Belgian vessel Pompei off Somalia in 2009, the report said.

A Belgian frigate, part of the international naval operating combatting piracy in the region, picked up the men on Monday.