Somalis convicted of piracy in the Dutch courts will not be eligible for a residency permit after serving their sentences, junior justice minister Nebahat Albayrak told MPs on Tuesday.

Five suspected pirates are currently on trial for seizing an Antilles-registered ship but MPs had been alarmed by newspaper reports that they are happy to be in the Netherlands and want to stay.
Albayrak told Nos radio she was surprised by the commotion because the men would not be eligible to claim asylum. In addition, a criminal past is sufficient grounds for refusing an application, she said.
On Monday foreign minister Maxime Verhagen urged EU ministers to set up a special tribunal to deal with piracy under the auspices of the United Nations. The tribunal should be located in Africa itself, possibly Kenya, Verhagen was reported as saying in the NRC.