Spain charges Somalia 'pirates'

The Alakrana was captured in on 2 October in the Indian Ocean

A Spanish judge has charged two Somalis with piracy-related offences as their colleagues refuse to release a Spanish boat hijacked in the Indian Ocean.

The two men have been charged with illegal detention, criminal association and armed robbery, among other charges.

The pair, named as Abdu Willy and Raagegeesey, were arrested by Spain's navy as they left the Alakrana vessel.

The pirates have repeated their demand that the two arrested men be released before negotiations for the boat begin.

The Alakrana vessel was seized in early October in the Indian Ocean and taken to the Somali port town of Harardere, the hub of piracy in the region.

"We decided that we shall not negotiate about releasing crew and vessel until our two comrades are freed and brought back safely to Harardere," Hassan Abdulkadir, one of the pirates holding the vessel, told Reuters.

Mr Abdulkadir, who said he was a relative of the two Somali men charged in Spain, said the crew - including members from Spain, Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, Senegal and the Seychelles - were in good health.

Many pirates have escaped prosecution because of doubts about the borders of jurisdiction. In May, a court in Spain surrendered a group of Somali pirates to Kenya after trying to bring them to Spain.

Last year, the crew of another Spanish boat was freed by pirates in the same area after a ransom of a reported $1.2m (£750,000) was paid, according to Somali officials.