Internatioonal law experts were somewhat baffled at Russia's announcement that it was releasing the Somali pirates it had had captured days earlier when they attacked a Russian-flagged vessel. It was surprising as, after their capture, Russia had announced with some fanfare that that the pirates would be brought to Russia for trial.

Now, they are being released because of \"an incomplete international legal basis\" to keep them detained, Col Alexei Kuznetsov was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Russia is a signatory, gives sovereign nations the right to seize and prosecute pirates. What legal flaws would have required Russia to release these alleged pirates is unknown, and Col. Kuzentsov did not elaborate on the legal issues when pressed by reporters.

Some nefarious theories and conspiracy theories have been put forward (that the pirates were killed or tortured or ...),  but some countries have been reluctant to prosecute pirates because of concerns of what to do with the pirates after their jail terms are up.

Perhaps non-legal issues were the real reason for the pirates release. When pressed about the pirates, Col Kuznetsov told the Associated Press news agency: \"Why should we feed some pirates?\"