(CNN) -- Five Somali men were convicted of plotting a hijack at sea and sentenced to five years in prison in the Netherlands, in the first trial of pirates in Europe, a prosecution spokesman said Thursday. 

The court rejected their claim that they were innocent fishermen, said Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for Netherlands National Prosecutor's Office, noting that no fishing gear was found in their boat. 

The five were captured by the Danish navy in January 2009 in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia, after a cargo ship with Dutch Antilles flag was attacked. 

"The ship of the pirates was destroyed by the Danish navy, and the pirates were captured and handed to the Dutch authorities," de Bruin said. 

The men are Ahmed Yusuf Farah, 25, Jama Mohamed Samatar, 45, Abdirisaq Abdulahi Hirsi, 33, Sayid Ali Garaar, 39, and Osman Musse Farah, 32, he said. 

They have two weeks to file an appeal, he said, adding that he did not know if they planned to fight their conviction. 

They had faced a maximum sentence of 9 to 12 years, he added. The trial of the five opened in Rotterdam District Court on May 25. 

Another suspected Somali pirate is awaiting sentencing in the United States, where he pleaded guilty in May to hijacking and kidnapping. 

Prosecutors say Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse led an attack on a U.S.-flagged vessel, the Maersk Alabama, off the coast of Africa last year. 

He pleaded guilty May 19 in a New York federal court to felony counts of hijacking maritime vessels, kidnapping and hostage-taking for his role in the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean on April 8, 2009.  QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What was the number of men convicted of planning a hijack?
2. How many men received convictions for coming up with a hijacking plan?
3. How many men were convicted of making plans to hijack a ship?
Q2:
1. What nationality were the convicted men?
2. What was the nationality of the convicted men?
3. What nationality were the men being sent to prison?
Q3:
1. How long will the Somali men spend in prison?
2. What is the length of the Somalis' prison sentences?
3. How many years are the Somali men set to spend in prison?
Q4:
1. Who caught the Somali pirates?
2. Who were the Somali pirates captured by?
3. Who was responsible for capturing the Somali pirates?
Q5:
1. When were the Somali pirates captured?
2. When did the Danish navy catch the Somali pirates?
3. When did the capture of the Somali hijackers by the Danish navy occur?
Q6:
1. Did the Somali pirates claim to be innocent?
2. Did the Somali men plead not guilty?
3. Did the Somalians say they were innocent of the hijacking?
Q7:
1. Did the court accept the Somalis' innocent pleas?
2. Was the court okay with the Somali men's pleas of innocence?
3. Were the Somalian men's pleas of innocence taken by the court?
Q8:
1. Did the pirates ship get destroyed?
2. Was the ship of the Somali pirates demolished?
3. Did the Somalis' ship get taken down?
Q9:
1. Who did the Danish navy give the Somali pirates to?
2. Who were the Somali pirates handed to by the Danish navy?
3. Whose custody were the Somali pirates transferred to?
Q10:
1. Was there any fishing equipment in the Somalis' boat?
2. Did the Somalis have anything to fish with in their boat?
3. Was there any equipment for fishing in the Somalian pirates' ship?
Q11:
1. How many days do the pirates have to appeal their conviction?
2. What is the number of days remaining for the Somalis to file an appeal?
3. How many more days are the Somalis allowed to file an appeal for?
