( CNN ) -- Five Somali men were convicted in the Netherlands of plotting a hijack at sea and sentenced to five years in prison , CNN affiliate RTL reported Thursday . The trial of the five , said to be the first trial of pirates in Europe in modern times , opened in Rotterdam District Court May 25 . The men were captured by the Danish navy in January 2009 in the Gulf of Aden , off Somalia , after a cargo ship with a Dutch Antilles flag was attacked , said Wim de Bruin , a spokesman for the Netherlands National Prosecutor 's Office . `` The ship of the pirates was destroyed by the Danish navy , and the pirates were captured and handed to the Dutch authorities , '' he said . The pirates are Ahmed Yusuf Farah , 25 , Jama Mohamed Samatar , 45 , Abdirisaq Abdulahi Hirsi , 33 , Sayid Ali Garaar , 39 , and Osman Musse Farah , 32 , de Bruin said . They had faced a maximum sentence of nine to 12 years , he added . 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 . Muse faces a maximum sentence of almost 34 years behind bars when he is sentenced October 19 . The pirates who were tried in the Netherlands spent four weeks aboard the Danish navy ship after their capture before being taken to the Netherlands , spokesman de Bruin said . They were held in pre-trial custody while the court interviewed witnesses from the Danish navy and seamen on the Dutch Antilles cargo ship that was under attack , he said . Five Dutch defense lawyers represented the suspects , de Bruin said . The trial is the first of its kind in Europe , he said . Germany will soon try 10 suspected pirates who were captured in the Gulf of Aden earlier this year . They were arrested after their attempt to board a German cargo vessel , but the Danish navy ended the hijacking and handed them over to the Dutch authorities , Bruin said . They have since been held in the Netherlands , and Germany requested their extradition about two months ago . CNN 's Richard Allen Greene and Eileen Hsieh contributed to this report .
Five Somali men convicted in Netherlands court . Men attacked cargo ship in Gulf of Aden in January 2009 . 10 other suspected pirates will be tried soon in Germany . Dutch trial is said to be first prosecution of pirates in Europe .