(CNN) -- Five suspected pirates went on trial Tuesday in the Netherlands in what is thought to be the first trial in Europe of pirate suspects. The trial of the five Somali men opened in Rotterdam District Court and is expected to last five days, said Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for Netherlands National Prosecutor's Office. The five were captured by the Dutch Navy in January 2009 in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia, after a cargo ship with Dutch Antilles flag was attacked, de Bruin said. "The ship of the pirates was destroyed by the Danish Navy, and the pirates were captured and handed to the Dutch authority. They're being tried for sea robbery, and if convicted the maximum sentence will be 9 to 12 years," he said.
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Trial of the five Somali men thought to be first of its kind in Europe
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The five captured by Dutch Navy after attacking a cargo ship in Gulf of Aden
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Official: If convicted the maximum sentence will be 9 to 12 years
They were held in pre-trial custody while the court interviewed witnesses from the Danish Navy and seamen on the @placeholder cargo ship that was under attack, he said.