Last batch of 76 Somalis in Indian jails over piracy arrive in Mogadishu

The 76 had completed jails terms handed by Indian Sessions court in August 2017

The last group of 76 Somalis who served jail terms on piracy charges in India arrived in Mogadishu today following the signing of prisoner exchange agreements between Somalia and India.

Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled flanked by senior government officials received the men who had been sentenced in India for piracy charges at the height of ship hijackings off the Somali high seas in 2011.

Guled said the arrival of the 76 marks the completion of prisoner exchange talks between the two countries. The first group of 40 prisoner were brought back January while three of then died in jail.

A total of 120 Somali men were arrested in four separate anti-piracy operations by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coastguard from January to March 2011. An Indian court had convicted them last August and ruled they be deported once they completed the rest of the jail terms.

The release of the prisoners from India adds to another 114 Somali prisoners let go from Ethiopia jails last July.