Pirates free hostages
November 17, 2009
Somali pirates have released a Spanish tuna trawler hijacked six weeks ago with thirty-six crew on board, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced on Tuesday.
"The sailors of the Alakrana are free and will be coming home," Zapatero told a news conference in Madrid.
Zapatero did not respond directly to questions about whether the government had paid the pirates a ransom, but said it had "done what it had to do."
According to a member of the piracy ring, the group received a ransom payment of 4 million dollars (2.3 million euros).
"We received four million dollars to release the Spanish fishing boat," Ali Dhere told German Press Agency dpa.
Fate of two suspected pirates unclear
Dhere also said an agreement had been reached regarding the release of two suspected pirates who were captured by a Spanish frigate on October 4.
On Monday, the two Somalis were charged in a Madrid courtroom with armed robbery and kidnapping.
The remaining pirates aboard the Alakrana had threatened to kill their hostages if the Spanish government did not release them.
According to Zapatero, the crew, which includes 16 Spaniards as well as Africans and Asians, were now "safe and sound".
vj/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Susan Houlton