Somali pirates jailed in France for kidnapping couple
A French court has jailed five Somali men for between four and eight years for hijacking a yacht and taking a French couple hostage.
The incident took place in the Gulf of Aden in September 2008.
A French navy team raided the vessel, Carre d’As, two weeks later, killing one captor and detaining the others.
A sixth man was acquitted. It is France’s first prosecution of suspected Somali pirates.
The prosecutors had asked for the men, now aged between 21 and 36, to be sent to jail for between six and 16 years.
They were charged with hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery after seizing the boat and its crew.
They were accused of attacking the Carre d’As on 2 September 2008 and demanding a ransom of $2m (£1.3m; 1.5m euros) for the release of French couple Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne, both aged 60.