Five suspected Somali pirates will appear in court in Rotterdam on Tuesday, charged with taking over a Dutch merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden 18 months ago.

The ship’s crew are said to have fought off the pirates who were picked up by Danish marines patrolling the area and eventually handed over to the Dutch authorities.
The five have apparently admitted planning to seize a ship, but their lawyer Jan Ausma told the Volkskrant there is no evidence and no weapons. ‘The boat they were in is at the bottom of the sea,’ he said. ‘And the Danish helicopter crew did not see anything either.’
If found guilty, the men could be jailed in the Netherlands for up to 12 years.
The Dutch courts are also considering an extradition request by Germany to hand over 10 suspected pirates arrested by a Dutch frigate earlier this year. The group is thought to include one minor, the NRC reports.