News story

Minister for Africa welcomes the transfer of pirates to Somaliland

Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham said that he "welcomed the successful transfer of 17 convicted Somali pirates from the Seychelles to serve their sentences in prison in Somaliland".

• From: Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Henry Bellingham
• Published: 29 March 2012

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

“Following the London Conference on Somalia, where Somaliland signed a ground breaking agreement with the Seychelles to transfer convicted pirates to prisons in Somaliland, this prisoner transfer represents an important step forward in ensuring pirates are brought to justice. I praise the cooperation between regional and international partners to make this happen. I hope to see more transfers of this nature in the future, as they serve to strengthen and secure the cycle of justice that sees pirates being held to account for their actions.”

Published 29 March 2012