Pirate trial

It's been the same scene in every one of the 33 trial days over the last six months in Germany's first piracy case in centuries: 10 young Somali men enter through the back door of the Hamburg District Court and head directly for their seats at the defense table. Each man briefly greets his public defender, takes a seat and places headphones over his ears.

The men have experienced everything that has happened in this courtroom over the last six months via a translator over the headphones. So far, that's been six expert testimonies and 11 witnesses, plus countless motions from the defense and prosecution.

According to the original plan, the trial should have wrapped up two months ago. But at the moment, there is no end in sight.

Gabriele Heinecke is the lawyer for one of the suspected pirates and is slowly losing patience herself. She does concede, however, that it is a legal requirement to delve deeply into the details of what happened on board the German ship Taipan in spring 2010 when it was commandeered by pirates.

"But nearly nothing has been said so far regarding the fundamental question of what motivated 10 young men from Somalia to take over a ship," said Heinecke.

Glimpsing life in Somalia

It's a question that could affect the outcome of the trial, and therefore one that will eventually need to be addressed: what prompted the Somalis to risk their lives to commandeer a ship?

In order to come up with an answer, the living conditions of the 10 men need to be brought to light: How deep was their poverty? How desperate was their situation? To what extent is violence a part of everyday life where they come from?

An expert summoned by the court to testify has put in a lot of effort to depict what life is like in Somalia. Volker Matthies has shown dozens of overhead projections to try and explain clan structure and administrative structures. But for most of the lawyers' questions, Matthies doesn't have an answer. He hasn't been in the country for several years due to security concerns.

"Of course it's tough to get serious and reliable data due to the lack of a government and the war-like situation," Matthies admitted. "Nearly all the numbers we have come from rough estimates. Aid organizations are constantly trying to find new information from the source, but security concerns in many regions make this very difficult."

A case for an international court

Because of the gaps in background information in this case, Max Johns from the German Shipowners Association doesn't expect much from this case in Hamburg. He has higher hopes for an idea that came from the United Nations, to establish a sort of international tribunal for pirates.

In the last few months, pirate attacks near the Horn of Africa have increased dramatically and are becoming increasingly brutal. That's why Johns supports the idea of an international court that can handle these cases on a professional, well-informed basis.

"It doesn't make much sense to make lawyers and courts everywhere specialize in such a narrow subject in order to arrive at what could be very different verdicts," said Johns.

Some people who have observed the trial in Hamburg are a bit less cynical; they think it doesn't matter in which court the trial takes place or what the eventual verdict will be. They say the suspected pirates are actually glad to be in custody, where they are taken care of around the clock.

But defense attorney Gabriele Heinecke doesn't buy that argument. she says her client has a guilty conscience because he has enough to eat in Hamburg.

"His wife and two kids in Somalia don't have enough, and that's a big reason that he worries," she said.

Heinecke's client won't likely get to see his family again any time soon. Most of those involved in the case believe it will continue to be drawn out. A verdict is expected in late summer at the earliest, and until then all 10 Somalis will remain in custody.

Author: Jan-Philipp Scholz / mz
Editor: Martin Kuebler