MALAYSIA'S PROSECUTION OF SOMALIS IN LINE WITH UN SECURITY COUNTIL RESOLUTIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- The prosecution of seven Somalis caught for firing at a Malaysian armed forces team in the Gulf of Aden in January is in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions on "The Situation in Somalia," parliament was told Thursday.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul
Aziz said Resolutions 1897, 1981 and 1950 authorised UN member countries to prosecute pirates arrested in accordance with the mandate of the security council.
"Malaysia also takes note of its obligations as a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS)," he said in a written reply to a member of parliamaent (MP)
The MP wanted to know why the government prosecuted the Somalis in Malaysia when they were arrested outside the country and which existing laws or alternative methods could be considered by the government to prosecute Somali pirates.
Mohamed Nazri said that under Article 100 of UNCLOS, all countries were required to cooperate fully in eradicating piracy on the high seas or anywhere else beyond the jurisdiction of any country.