Somalis get jail terms in hijack attempt

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TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A Japanese court sentenced two Somali pirates to jail terms for an attempt to hijack an oil tanker operated by a Japanese company in the Indian Ocean in 2011.

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Mohamed Urgus Adeysey, 23, and Abdinur Hussain Ali, 38, to 10-year prison terms Friday.

Both defendants admitted taking part in the attempted hijacking, The Japan Times reported Friday.

In the first case tried in Japan under a 2009 anti-piracy law, the primary issue was whether the judge would impose a prison term or offer a suspended sentence so the convicted men could be deported to Somalia, the newspaper noted.

The court said that, although Adeysey, Ali and two other Somali citizens in custody in Tokyo failed to hijack the 57,000-ton ship, their actions were nonetheless vicious and well-planned.