Dealing With Pirates the Russian Way

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Ten pirates captured by the Russian navy last week near Somalia were put in an inflatable boat without navigational equipment and cast adrift in the Indian Ocean last Friday. They are now presumed dead, according to Russian officials.

The official told the Russian press that after an hour, radar contact with the the boat was lost and the pirates “apparently” had all died. He did not elaborate. Commentators are speculating what may have really happened, especially since the Russian president last week indicated severe punishment for the pirates, saying, “We will have to act as our forefathers did when they met pirates.” The Defense Ministry said last Friday that plans changed from a trial in Moscow to release on the ocean due to shortcomings of international law.

A spokesman of Navfor, the EU’s naval force in Somalia, warned not to jump to conclusions, saying to BBC that it was impossible to say anything without knowing more details of the boat, the weather, and other factors.