Six Somali men allegedly involved in attacking a French yacht and holding its 30 crew hostage for a week appeared before a judge on Friday to placed under formal investigation, a court source said.
French troops captured the men in the Somali desert on April 11th as they were allegedly fleeing with $200,000, part of the ransom paid by the owners of the
Ponantluxury yacht.
The six were allegedly part of a larger group of pirates who carried out the attack and hostage taking. The total ransom paid was $2 million, but the other pirates made off with the rest of the money.
The six, who were flown to France by military plane on Wednesday, will face charges including boat hijacking, kidnap, illegal confinement and demanding ransom as part of an organised gang, which carry a maximum life sentence.
After today's formalities, investigations are likely to last several years before a criminal trial takes place.
According to their initial statements to police, two of the men took part in the April 4th raid on the yacht, three others were part of the armed guard that watched over the hostages, and one was their driver when they returned to land.