Somalia

Kidnapped French agents to be tried under Sharia law in Somalia, pirates release German ship

Article published on the 2009-07-18 Latest update 2009-07-19 08:54 TU

Militants patrol the streets of Mogadishu, 13 July 2009
(Photo: Reuters/Omar Faruk)

The two French agents who were abducted in Somlia Monday will be tried under Islamic Sharia law, said the al-Shebab rebel group which is now holding both the men. They could be being held as bargaining chips for the release of Somali pirates held in France. Saturday, Somali pirates released a German ship and its crew after being paid a ransom.

The two French agents “will soon be tried and punished under the Sharia law,” an al-Shebab officer told the AFP news agency Saturday, on condition of anonymity. “They will face the justice court for spying and entering Somalia to assist the enemy of Allah.”

Al-Shebab is currently holding the two men, who were intially split up, held by two different rebel groups.

They may be held in return for the freedom of some Somali pirates jailed in France, Somalia’s Social Affairs Minister Mohammed Ali Ibrahim told the France 24 television station.

"The demands are not clear,” he said. “The main reason for the kidnapping is that some al-Shebab members have relatives imprisoned in France – Somali pirates.”

On Saturday, Somali pirates said they released a German ship and its crew of 11 after receiving a 1.3 million-euro ransom.

The German Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of the MV Victoria flying the Antigua and Barbuda flag, which captured on 5 May south of Yemen on its way to the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah.

In a separate kidnapping incident, three foreign aid workers were kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday morning from their office in the Kenyan town of Mandera, near the Somali border, and were taken into Somalia.

The details of the three people – their nationalities or the organisation they work for – have not been released.