A treaty allowing the European Union to transfer suspected Somali pirates to Kenya for trial is violating human rights, a French legal aid network said.

Paris-based Lawyers of the World has written to the United Nations, the EU’s anti-piracy force and Kenya’s Foreign Ministry to demand they form a joint committee to monitor performance of the five-month-old agreement and ensure piracy suspects are cared for in custody and get a credible trial.

“Without such implementation, the trials will be without legitimacy and a gross violation of the rights of the accused,” according to a copy of the letter dated Aug. 11 and e-mailed to Bloomberg News today.

Kenya, which borders Somalia, became a venue for piracy trials after signing prisoner transfer accords this year with the U.S., the U.K. and the EU in exchange for legal and logistical support. Denmark said on Aug. 18 it had also signed a piracy extradition agreement with Kenya.

Somalia is unable to host the trials because its legal system is in tatters following 18 years of civil war.

At sea, suspects have been captured with no ability to access legal advice and in the absence of an interpreter so they are unable to communicate in their Somali language or understand the evidence, Lawyers of the World said.

Onshore, the detainees are denied adequate medical treatment and lack basic amenities such as soap. In most cases, they have not been able to contact their families.

There are also questions over whether Kenya has jurisdiction to try hijackings on the high seas, it added.

On a mission to Kenya earlier this month, Lawyers of the World received permission to represent about 43 detained Somali men captured by European navies off eastern Africa and handed over to Kenya for prosecution.

Kenyan law carries a maximum life sentence for those convicted of piracy.

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