Brazilian pirates convicted

On June 21, 2002, six men accused of murdering New Zealand yachtsman and environmental activist Sir Peter Blake, 53, were convicted and sentenced by Judge Jose Magno Linhares in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.

Blake was brutally murdered in a piracy attack aboard Seamaster, a yacht owned and operated by Blake Expeditions, while she was moored near the mouth of the Amazon River last December.

Ricardo Colares Tavares, 23, was sentenced to 36 years and 9 months. The other five pirates received various sentences of at least 26 years and 8 months. The men will not be eligible for parole until at least two-thirds of their sentences have been served.

By Ocean Navigator