Somalis brought to Spain to face hijacking charge

MADRID (Reuters) - Two Somalis suspected of taking part in hijacking a Spanish fishing boat which is still under the control of pirates were brought to Madrid on Monday to face piracy charges, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The two unnamed men were caught by the Spanish navy trying to make their way ashore from the vicinity of the Alakrana, a tuna fishing boat, shortly after it was overrun by pirates in the Indian Ocean on October 2.

They will be taken to a Madrid court on Tuesday.

The Spanish government has sought help from the beleaguered government of Somalia to help free the Alakrana, whose 36 crew includes Spaniards and members from Indonesia, the Seychelles, Madagascar and Senegal.

In May, a Spanish court tried to bring a group of suspected Somali pirates to Spain but eventually surrendered them to Kenya.

Many pirates have escaped prosecution because of doubts over the jurisdiction where they are captured or because Western governments fear they will try to claim asylum if brought to their countries for trial.

Last year crew members of another Spanish boat were freed by pirates in the area after what a Somali official said had been a $1.2 million ransom payment.