MADRID - Somali pirates have threatened to kill three captive crew members from a Spanish fishing vessel if two suspected pirates being held in Spain are not freed, a senior officer aboard the vessel said on Friday.The Spanish navy captured two Somalis in the Indian Ocean shortly after pirates seized the tuna boat Alakrana on Oct. 2 and took its 36 crew hostage. The suspects are set to face trial in Spain on kidnapping and other charges.
The pirates took three crew members ashore and threatened to kill them, but Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos later said the three had been returned to the vessel.
"The three captives who were taken ashore have been returned on board; they are on the boat," he told a news conference, saying he had received the news from Somali Prime Minister Omar Abrirashid Ali Sharmarke.
"We will succeed in bringing the crew home safe and sound," Moratinos said.
Earlier, the Alakrana's first mate, Ricardo Blach, said the Somali pirates had given the Spanish authorities two days to free the Somali prisoners awaiting trial in Spain.
The pirates had previously said they would not negotiate a ransom for the release of the Alakrana until the two had been freed.
"If in two days there are no signs that those two Somalis are being sent back here, they are going to kill them (the three crew members) and immediately take another three hostages. This is a lottery," Blach told Spanish television by telephone from the captured ship.
Spain's deputy defence minister said military options had been looked at but the government would prefer a negotiated settlement to the hostage crisis.
"At the moment the way forward is through negotiation but all military options have been studied if we needed to use them," said the minister, Constantino Mendez.
He said the Somali detainees were "at the mercy of the Spanish justice system, given that they captured a Spanish boat. This situation is not negotiable".
"Our aim is not only to resolve this situation but also to bring to justice the other kidnappers so that the pirates do not act with impunity," he said.
Families of the crew, speaking in the Basque country where the Alakrana is based, called for a peaceful solution.
"We would ask the Spanish government not to make any military assault to save the 36 crew members, putting those 36 lives at risk," said Mari Angeles Jimenez, wife of one of the kidnapped crew.
First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa de la Vega said after a cabinet meeting: "What we will never do is put the crew at risk."
Blach said the crew felt humiliated and threatened and called on the Spanish government to free the two Somali pirates.
"We have been here for more than 30 days. What can I say about this government which has 36 of us here like sacrificial lambs for the sake of having two (pirates) held," Blach said.
"The government has the solution in its own hands. Just send those two Somalis back here ... pay what's required and we will be automatically freed. It's that simple," he said.
Somali pirates said on Thursday they had taken three male hostages from the Alakrana ashore and might hand them to the families of the two suspected pirates being held by Spain.
Pirates have been plundering the busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia for years. Warships from 16 nations are patrolling the area to try to prevent such piracy, but the sea gangs have extended their reach far into the Indian Ocean.
There was a lull in ship seizures during the seasonal monsoon rains, but the pirates have stepped up their attacks in the past few weeks and are now holding some 10 vessels and at least 187 hostages.