Prosecutors once again demand life sentence for Somali pirates

BUSAN, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- Appealing what they believed were light lower-court sentences, local prosecutors on Monday again demanded life imprisonment for four Somali pirates convicted of hijacking a South Korean ship earlier this year.
Busan District Public Prosecutors' Office demanded the four pirates be sentenced to life for their role in hijacking the Samho Jewelry on Jan. 15. In a trial court sentence, they received jail terms ranging from 13 to 15 years.
Both sides had appealed the sentences.
A fifth pirate, Mahomed Arai, for whom the prosecution had sought the death penalty, was sentenced to life by the lower court for shooting the ship's captain, Seok Hae-kyun. His appeals trial is set for Aug. 22.
Choi Sung-joo, Arai's attorney, argued that Seok may have been shot by South Korean Navy commandos who raided the ship to free it from the pirates and asked South Korea's forensic authorities for further clarification.
The five pirates were captured during the Jan. 21 commando operation. Eight other pirates were killed, while all 21 crew members of the ship were rescued.
"Given the gravity of their action, 13 to 15 years in prison are too lenient," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.