Asylum no longer cause for early release, Somali pirates: Teeven

Somali pirates serving their sentence in the Netherlands will no longer be able to get released early if they ask for asylum, in the opinion of state secretary Fred Teeven (Justice). The ruling at the moment makes it easier for aliens such as these pirates to walk free if they have served two-thirds of their sentence and request asylum. Teeven wants this ruling to be scrapped. He has announced to the House of Representatives that he will come with a proposal as soon as possible to amend the penal law on this point. In total, around 25 Somali pirates have been convicted in the netherlands. According to Fred Teeven, he has made deals with Somalia about a forced return of this group. Teeven answered Parliament questions today, which revealed that more than 10 convicted pirates have returned to Somalia after serving two-thirds of their sentence. One person was extradited on the 22nd of May, back to Somalia. The others are still in prison, because they are serving their time or because they have requested asylum.