Crew of Danish frigate HDMS Esbern Snare releases three suspected pirates

Interesting information, even in the context of the migration crisis sponsored by the Belarusian authorities, has arrived last days on the action of the Danish frigate of HDMS Esbern Snare, which released three suspicious pirates after their earlier arrest in Gulf of Guinea waters.

The ship's crew has given three, previously captured pirates, a rubber dinghy along with the outboard engine and escorted to the nearest shore. The decision was not dictated by exceptional goodness of the heart but by exceptional pragmatism.

Sending pirates ashore, instead of being detained on a ship for the purpose of bringing them to court, was intended to avoid bringing them to Denmark, to bear the costs of the trial and, consequently, the costs of keeping them in prison.

As reported in his statement, the Danish government, the fourth of the pirates who had been injured during the arrest and transferred to a hospital in Ghana for treatment, had already been transported to Denmark for further medical care (and trial) because they required this international commitment.

Four men were taken after an earlier exchange of fire between the Danish forces and a group of suspected pirates that took place on 24 November 2021.

After noticing a suspect skiff in the international waters of the Gulf of Guinea, the HDMS Esbern Snare picked up an on-board helicopter to check the situation. The helicopter crew spotted a ladder in the skiff and other pirate equipment, so the ship pursued a suspicious unit.

When a boat was deployed from the ship's deck with a boarding group, the target unit did not respond to distress signals and Danish forces fired warning shots. In response, the skiff cast opened fire on both the helicopter and the boarding crew.

As a result of the fire exchange, the Danes killed four people, one injured, and three people were captured without injury. Additionally, one of the people present on the skiffi fell overboard and was not found.

The Danish ship took four surviving pirates aboard and held them until charges were filed. The injured man had to have his leg amputated, and after a series of operations on board, he was evacuated to a hospital in Ghana to provide professional medical care.

The legal status of suspects has been suspended for more than a month and the Danish authorities have debated how (and whether) to bring them to Copenhagen for trial. The Danish government was afraid that deportation of the persons involved, after the criminal trial (and possible conviction) could be legally impossible.

According to the authorities, being pirates in Denmark for an indefinite period is highly undesirable and, moreover, can be a dangerous incentive for others to commit similar criminal acts in order to bring them to court in Denmark.

Ultimately, Justice Minister Nick Hækkerup said he solved the case by withdrawing, by Danish prosecutors, against the three pirates detained aboard the ship, charges of attempted manslaughter.

Otherwise, bringing an indictment against them would mean bringing them to Denmark to stand trial – which would be an undesirable result. They were "released at sea on this basis," said the Danish Ministry of Justice in its statement.

"We have no interest in these people going to Denmark, where they would have to pay a possible penalty, and where we also risk not being deported later," said Hækkerup. "They have no relationship with Denmark and the crime they have been accused of has been committed far from Denmark. They just don't belong in this country. And that's why I think it's the right move."

Minister spraw zagranicznych Jeppe Kofod powiedział, że nie ma możliwości przekazania podejrzanych do procesu pobliskiemu rządowi nadmorskiemu. To samo dotyczy rannego podejrzanego: rząd duński nie mógł znaleźć legalnego sposobu na wydanie rannego mężczyzny na miejscu, więc zostanie on sprowadzony do Kopenhagi, aby stanąć przed sądem.

„Ze względu na nasze międzynarodowe zobowiązania, kluczowe było uzyskanie gwarancji co do przyszłego losu podejrzanego pirata, ale niestety okazało się to niemożliwe” – powiedział Hækkerup. „To przypuszczalnie oznacza, że będzie on ścigany w Danii za usiłowanie nieumyślnego spowodowania śmierci duńskich żołnierzy”.

Ciała czterech zmarłych piratów nadal znajdują się na pokładzie fregaty, a ostateczne pozbycie się ich szczątków jest przedmiotem dyskusji.

Written by Mirosław Ogrodniczuk