UAE court 'upholds life terms for 10 pirates'

A UAE appeals court on Monday upheld life imprisonments handed in May last year to 10 pirates convicted of hijacking a ship east of Oman in the Arabian Sea in 2011, state news agency WAM reported. The sentences, which equates to 25 years in jail, will be followed by deportation, WAM said. The report did not give the nationalities of the 10 men, but local media had reported that they were Somalis. MV Arrilah-I was hijacked in April 2011 while on way from Australia to Dubai. United Arab Emirates special forces, backed by air force units and in coordination with the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet, freed the Abu Dhabi-owned ship a day after it was seized. The bulk carrier is owned by Abu Dhabi National Tanker Co and National Gas Shipping Co, both subsidiaries of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.