Puntland has fined 15 Iranian fishermen $500 each and ordered them to be deported after they were caught fishing illegally off Puntland’s coast.
Puntland also ruled that two Iranian men who died during the operation to capture the fishermen would not be held in custody, with the court ruling that the men died while escaping from security forces.
Two Somali men who were accompanying the fishermen were sentenced to three years in prison and a $2,000 fine, while another defendant who escaped was sentenced to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The court also ordered the boat seized in the operation to be fined $70,000 and that the Puntland administration seize the fish on board, which was illegally taken off Puntland’s coast.
This ruling comes at a time when illegal fishing is a major problem for the people of Puntland living in coastal areas, who have become victims of foreign ships and boats engaged in illegal fishing there.
