The trial

Since 22nd November 2010, a group of ten Somali men have been on trial in the Hamburg Youth Court. They are facing charges of kidnapping and seizing a ship, charges that carry a maximum of 15 years imprisonment. What they are alleged to have done is board a German ship, the 'Taipan', as it sailed 500 miles off the coast of Somalia last April. The group were captured by a Dutch marine commando and taken to Netherlands and from there they were extradited to Germany to stand trial in Hamburg. Hamburg being the city where the ship's owner's multi-national company is registered.


20 lawyers are representing the ten accused and so far 14 trial dates have been set, meaning that the proceedings are set to last until the end of January 2011. The reason the case is being heard in the youth court is that three of the defendants are not yet adults in German law. The youngest is only 13 years old and cannot be tried under German law.

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