A DANISH court has found a Nigerian pirate guilty of endangering the lives of Danish military personnel in a shooting incident last November involving Denmark's naval engagement with pirates off the West African coast, Reuters reported.
But the court declined to sentence Lucky Frances, 40, despite a call from the prosecutor for a prison sentence of 12 to 15 months.
The pirate, injured in the fire fight was taken to Denmark for prosecution in January after having his leg amputated as a result of his injuries sustained in the skirmish.
As part of international anti-piracy efforts, Denmark deploys a frigate to the Gulf of Guinea. It intervened in an attack on a commercial vessel, killing four pirates and capturing four others.
'The court emphasised that the man, together with the other perpetrators, fulfilled all the signs of piracy and had to be described as a pirate group,' Copenhagen city court said in a statement.
Frances was exempted from any legal consequences due to his medical condition and the fact that charges against the other three suspected pirates had been dropped, his lawyer Jesper Storm Thygesen told Reuters.
Charges against the three other suspected Nigerian pirates were dropped in January, after Denmark failed to find a country in the region to take them. They were released from detention on the frigate and put to sea in a small dinghy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Frances will remain in custody until both sides have decided whether to appeal against the verdict, Mr Thygesen said.
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But the court declined to sentence Lucky Frances, 40, despite a call from the prosecutor for a prison sentence of 12 to 15 months.
The pirate, injured in the fire fight was taken to Denmark for prosecution in January after having his leg amputated as a result of his injuries sustained in the skirmish.
As part of international anti-piracy efforts, Denmark deploys a frigate to the Gulf of Guinea. It intervened in an attack on a commercial vessel, killing four pirates and capturing four others.
'The court emphasised that the man, together with the other perpetrators, fulfilled all the signs of piracy and had to be described as a pirate group,' Copenhagen city court said in a statement.
Frances was exempted from any legal consequences due to his medical condition and the fact that charges against the other three suspected pirates had been dropped, his lawyer Jesper Storm Thygesen told Reuters.
Charges against the three other suspected Nigerian pirates were dropped in January, after Denmark failed to find a country in the region to take them. They were released from detention on the frigate and put to sea in a small dinghy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Frances will remain in custody until both sides have decided whether to appeal against the verdict, Mr Thygesen said.
SeaNews Turkey