Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen has voiced concern with the comfort alleged Somali pirates find in Dutch prison cells. At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Verhagen pleaded for a UN tribunal to try the pirates in an East African country, for example Kenya.

Five Somalis are currently on trial in the Netherlands after they failed to hijack a freighter sailing under the Dutch Antilles flag in January. The pirates have expressed their satisfaction with their prison cells, and at least one of them has said he wants to stay in the Netherlands after he is released and hopes to bring his family over.

Verhagen said prosecution should deter pirates, not encourage them with the prospect of starting a new life in the country that prosecutes them. In Brussels, Verhagen proposed to establish a regional tribunal under the umbrella of the UN. Pirates convicted there should than also serve their sentence in the region. The foreign minister said another benefit of a UN tribunal is that funds would become available to build prisons to house the pirates.

Dutch daily the Volkskrant reported it is unclear how much support Verhagen's idea has. The minister said Germany and Britain are in favour, and that Russia recently put forward a similar proposal.