Somali pirates who request asylum should stay in jail: minister

Convicted Somali pirates, who are serving their sentences in Dutch jails, should no longer qualify for early release if they request asylum, says junior justice minister Fred Teeven.

At the moment, the pirates are released after serving two-thirds of their sentence with good behaviour, as is standard in the Netherlands.

However, Teeven is planning to change the law on this point as soon as possible, he told parliament on Monday.

In total, 25 Somali nationals have been found guilty of piracy in the Netherlands and Teeven says he has reached agreement with the Somali authorities on their deportation.

Last month it emerged that three out of a group of nine Somali pirates jailed for 4.5 years in 2011, have applied for asylum in the Netherlands after being released from jail.

DutchNews.nl