In a rare case, a Spanish court convicted two Somalia men of piracy in the 2009 takeover of a Spanish fishing vessel and sentenced each to 439 years in prison, according to a copy of the sentence viewed by CNN on Tuesday. The long prison terms stem mainly from the conviction for illegal detention of the vessel’s 36 crew members, with a sentence of 11 years for each count of piracy, or 396 years.
In addition, the defendants were convicted on three other counts, including armed robbery and belonging to a criminal gang, which boosted the overall sentence to 439 years.
