Tuesday - November 15, 2011

Libyan war casualties arrive in Rotterdam …. and Somali pirates get life in French prison

Caught this today and while short, no less interesting for that.
No problem helping folks in trouble etc. but ...  50 people today.  How many tomorrow and the day after that?  How many will remain and then bring in all their relations both real and imagined? 
Does anyone else see that thin wedge?  Or maybe it’s just my silly islamophobic thinking at work.

H/T Expatica.com

Libyan war casualties arrive in Rotterdam

The first group of Libyans injured in the recent fighting have arrived in the Netherlands for specialist hospital treatment.
Last week, a Dutch medical team working with Libya’s ministry for war casualties selected people for treatment in the Netherlands. The first 12 arrived in Rotterdam late this afternoon.

The Hague has agreed to treat 50 people in the Netherlands. Several other countries have also agreed to offer specialised medical treatment to people injured in the war against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. All the cost will be met by the Libyan authorities.

The rest of the patients are expected to arrive over the next few days. After an initial assessment at a specialist facility in Utrecht the patients will be sent to various specialist medical facilities across the Netherlands.

SOURCE, EXPATICA

In other news ........

France tries six Somali ‘pirates’ in landmark case

Six Somali men appeared in a Paris court Tuesday in France’s first prosecution of alleged Somali pirates. The men face life imprisonment over charges of hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery of a French couple’s yacht in 2008.

They are facing charges of hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery after they allegedly seized the yacht and its crew, Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife Bernadette, both aged 60, off the coast of Somalia in 2008.

They face life in prison if convicted.

The six, aged between 21 and 35, were captured and flown to France after French special forces stormed the yacht, the Carre d’As IV, and rescued the couple. A seventh suspect was killed in the raid.

Journalists were allowed into the court for the start of the trial but judges are expected to later close the hearings to the public because one of the suspects was a minor at the time of the crime.

The suspects had reportedly demanded a ransom of $2 million (1.5 million) for the couple’s release.

Their case marks the first time France has put alleged Somali pirates on trial. Somali suspects in three other cases are currently awaiting trial.

source as above

Europeans do not approve the death penalty. I wouldn’t imagine French jails are a walk in the park, but dead pirates are preferable to live ones, even in jail. Does life mean life in France?  I don’t know.  If it’s anything like other western countries, it might only mean serving a certain amount of time and then going free. Maybe even remaining in France and ... bringing in the family? 

Posted by peiper     on 11/15/2011 at 11:59 AM   
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