Not just a problem for Penzance: “The Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights. Warships patrolling pirate-infested waters, such as those off Somalia, have been warned that there is also a risk that captured pirates could claim asylum in Britain” on the grounds that if sent back to Somalia they could face cruel punishments such as beheading or hand-chopping. (Marie Woolf, Times Online, Apr. 13).
8 Comments
I would like to believe that this was an article from the Onion, but unfortunately that is not the case. Breach their human rights? This is sheer lunacy. These Pirates have committed mayhem and murder but rather than punish them Britain would have to give them asylum because they face cruel punishment? The only rights that these Pirates should have is the right to a swift execution. Britain (and Europe) have gone stark raving mad. By the way, if the British Navy is not allowed to do anything to the Pirates, why in the world are they patrolling the seas? Are they planning to send them a sharply worded message?
I understand the problem with turning pirates over to the Somali government, but why can’t they prosecute them themselves? Is piracy no longer subject to universal jurisdiction?
Instead of capturing them, just blow them out of the water, problem solved.
The French don’t seem to have any problem with this. They have about seven pirates behind bars in France, awaiting trial.
The British legal system is infected with crippling political correctness and lack of will.
Sounds simplistic to me.
I would like to think that the guidance actually given was along the lines of:
“You can’t just pick people up on suspicion, check them out and let them go.
If you pick someone up they have to come back to Britain and get prosecuted or given asylum.
And we don’t want to give people asylum.”
Eventually, Britain will become a little-known Moslem outpost.
Got to agree with Kevin M; Blow them out of the water.
Can’t we send a few of our ‘oxygen thief’ scrotes over to act as ‘Pirate Bait’. if they suffer, it’s no-ones loss!
A supertanker is just too valuable not to be defended.
Just from the amount of environmental damage it could do if harmed. My vote is to use a 50 cal machine gun and blow them from the water. Problem solved. Another novel idea is to run high voltage electricity on the ladder and electrocute them as they try to board.