Five Somali nationals have been jailed for up to seven years for piracy by a court in Rotterdam.

The public prosecution department had called for sentences of up to 10 years for the leaders of the gang. The five have been held in Dutch jails since last November.
Two of the men, sentenced to seven and six years in jail, were found guilty of involvement in the hijacking of a South African sailing yacht last year in the Gulf of Aden and holding three people hostage. One was rescued but the other two, a couple from Durban, are still missing.
The court commented that pirates are becoming increasingly professional and violent because their actions often ‘deliver a lot of money’.
The trial took place in the Netherlands because the pirates were picked up by a Dutch naval vessel.