Carré d'As IV incident
| Carré d'As IV incident | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Piracy in Somalia, Operation Atalanta | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France  Germany[1]  Malaysia[1] | Somali pirates | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Nicolas Sarkozy | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
France 1 La Fayette-class frigate[1] 30 commandos[1] Germany 2 reconnaissance planes[1] |
1 hijacked yacht 7 pirates | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None |
1 yacht recaptured 1 killed 6 captured | ||||||
On September 2, 2008, the French yacht Carré d'As IV and its two crew were captured in the Gulf of Aden by seven Somali pirates, who demanded the release of six pirates in French custody and over $1 million dollars in ransom. On September 16, 2008, on the orders of President Nicolas Sarkozy, French special forces raided and recovered the yacht, rescued the two hostages, killed one pirate, and captured the six others. The pirates were flown to France to stand trial for piracy and related offenses; ultimately, five of them were convicted and sentenced to four to eight years in prison, while a sixth was acquitted. The incident marked the second French counter-piracy commando operation of 2008 (after the MY Le Ponant raid),[1] as well as the first-ever French trial of Somali pirates.[2]
Background
From 2003 to 2007, the number of piracy incidents worldwide declined from 452 to 282; however, piracy increased by 100% in Somalia, which suffered from severe poverty and the absence of an effective central government. By 2005, the International Maritime Bureau advised ships to stay 200 nautical miles off the Somalian coast. According to J. Ndumbe Anyu and Samuel Moki, "the overwhelming majority of pirates in Somalia come from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in the northeast of the country... where [Somalia's] poorest of the poor live." By 2008, Somalia was the "epicenter of piracy," with 100 ships attacked; pirate ransom demands had spiked "from tens of thousands of dollars a few years before to between $500,000 and $3.5 million," since shipowners were willing to pay relatively small amounts to recover much more expensive ships.[3]: 102–104 Accordingly, insurance premiums for shipping in the Gulf of Aden increased ten times from 2007 to 2008, from $900 to $9000.[4] The pirates frequently target yachts or commercial ships, which are unarmed and may hold valuable cargo.[3]: 109–110
The attack on the Carré d'As IV was not France's first encounter with Somali pirates. On April 4, 2008, pirates seized the 88-meter yacht MY Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden, capturing 30 crew members. The craft was then moored near Eyl in Puntland, and the owners paid a $2 million dollar ransom for the captured crew; the hostages were released unharmed after a week of captivity. The French military captured six suspected pirates and part of the ransom in an April 11 helicopter assault on Jariban, sending the suspects back to France for trial.[1][5] Four of the suspects would later be convicted of piracy, while the other two were acquitted.[6]
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Pirate hijacking and recovery
On September 2, 2008, at about 6:30 in the morning,[2] the 16-meter yacht Carré d'As IV, which had been sailing from Australia to La Rochelle, France,[7] was attacked and captured by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, where 12 ships had been hijacked since July.[1][8] The pirates, later identified as Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmoud, Sheik Mohamoud Jama Nour, Mohamed Hassan Yacoub (the interpreter), Abdirahman Farah Awil, Abdulahi Ahmed Guelleh, and "Yusuf,"[9] attacked in two speedboats, armed with (defective) rocket launchers and three assault rifles.[2] Its two crew, 60-year old Tahiti residents Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne, were taken and held for a ransom of $1–2 million dollars; the pirates also demanded the release of the six pirates captured by the French in April.[1][10] The Delannes later recalled that their captors were seasick, unprepared amateurs, and called them "kids out of their depth."[11]
The pirates reportedly then set course for Eyl, a "pirate den" on the coast of Puntland. Eyl official Abdullahi Saed Yusuf said that "We can only pray that the pirates release the hostages. We are powerless to help," while a French military spokesman announced that French forces in the area "were on standby, ready to intervene."[8] A contradictory report from the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme stated that the Delannes had been moved to a pirate base in the Xaabo mountains, and that the pirates were using the Carré d'As IV as a "decoy vessel" to attract more victim ships.[4] According to another press account, a feud developed between Yacoub and the pirates' sponsor, "Shire," a Puntland organized crime figure who belonged to a different clan; on September 12, Yacoub left Habot for Eyl, prompting a 400-kilometer overland pursuit by Shire's men that ended at Ras Hafun.[12]
On September 15, French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered a raid when he learned that the pirates were absconding to Eyl. The same night, 30 French Commandos Marine parachuted in[13] and stormed the Carré d'As IV while it was in Somali territorial waters,[2] killing one of the pirates and capturing the six others in under ten minutes. Malaysia and Germany lent support to the mission, the latter contributing two reconnaissance planes. The Delannes were safely recovered, brought aboard the French frigate Courbet, and taken to Djibouti; the pirates were flown to France for trial.[1][10]
Aftermath and trial
In a news conference after the rescue operation, Sarkozy called the raid a "warning" to pirates, declaring that "'France will not allow crime to pay... This operation is a warning to all those who indulge in this criminal activity. This is a call for the mobilization of the international community.'" He also endorsed the creation of a "marine police" unit to ensure security, and further "punitive action" against pirates. A Puntland official supported the French move, urging further international involvement to quell piracy.[1]
In November 2011, the six accused pirates, ranging from the ages of 21 and 36, were charged with "hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery" in France's first-ever trial of Somali pirates.[2][10] France was the fifth European country to try accused Somali pirates, after Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.[14] Since Yusuf was below the age of 18 at the time of the hijacking, the trial was held in camera,[15] with an interpreter to assist the defendants.[14] The prosecution, arguing that the Somalis were "dangerous terrorists,"[11] requested a sentence of between six and 16 years in jail.[10] In turn, the lawyers for the accused took the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), saying their arrest and transfer was illegal;[11] they argued that the alleged pirates on trial were scapegoats for "the main culprits".[15] According to Le Monde diplomatique, "the trial revealed that they were just following the orders of a powerful local man [Shire], who was identified but never investigated."[11] On November 30, after a 15-day trial, five of the accused received sentences between four and eight years, while 36-year-old Guelleh, who served as the fisherman, was acquitted and released.[11] The defendants apologized to the Delannes, who kissed them and wished them "a new and happy life".[10][11] The prosecutor appealed the sentences and acquittal on December 5, arguing they were too lenient.[16] In December 2014, the ECHR ruled that while the French were permitted to detain suspected pirates, they must be brought before a judge immediately once in France; the ECHR ordered France to pay the 10 hijackers of the Carré d'As IV and the MY Le Ponant €2,000-5,000 in damages.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "French commandos free kidnapped sailors; Couple held for ransom and freedom for 6 prisoners". The Vancouver Province (British Columbia). Agence France-Presse. September 17, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Jolly, Patricia (November 6, 2011). "L'affaire du "Carré-d'As", ou le premier procès de pirates somaliens en France". Le Monde.
- ^ a b Anyu, J. Ndumbe; Moki, Samuel (Summer 2009). "The Piracy Hot Spot and Its Implications for Global Security". Mediterranean Quarterly. 20 (3): 95–121.
- ^ a b Costello, Miles (September 11, 2008). "Somalian piracy cripples shipping with tenfold insurance cost rises". The Times.
- ^ "France charges Somali 'pirates'". BBC News. April 18, 2008.
- ^ Zemmouri, Catherine (June 11, 2013). "The Somali fisherman abducted and abandoned in Paris". BBC News.
- ^ "Los franceses secuestrados en Somalia por piratas "están bien", dice su hija". EFE News Services. September 5, 2008.
- ^ a b "$1million ransom for French couple seized on yacht". The Telegraph. September 5, 2008.
- ^ "Lourdes peines requises contre les pirates somaliens en France". Radio France Internationale. November 29, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Somali pirates jailed for French kidnapping". The Telegraph. November 30, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Carayol, Rémi (February 2012). "The pirate nobody wants". Le Monde diplomatique.
- ^ Alexandre, Franck (November 22, 2011). "Procès du "Carré d'As" : une guerre de clans entre pirates somaliens". Radio France Internationale.
- ^ Burleigh, Michael. "All at Sea Over Pirates". Standpoint.
- ^ a b Guisnel, Jean (December 1, 2011). "Verdict "indulgent" pour cinq pirates somaliens du Carré d'As IV". Le Point.
- ^ a b Samuel, Henry (November 15, 2011). "First French trial against Somali pirates opens in Paris". The Telegraph.
- ^ Hopquin, Benoît (December 12, 2011). "L'immense solitude de l'acquitté du "Carré-d'As"". Le Monde.
- ^ "La France condamnée à verser des indemnités à des pirates somaliens". Radio France Internationale. December 5, 2014.
