A Spanish judge has indicted two suspected Somali pirates in connection with the hijack of a Spanish fishing boat last month.
Judge Santiago Pedraz charged the two suspects with one count of armed robbery and 36 counts of illegal detention -- one count for each of the crew members on the hijacked boat, the Alakrana.
Spanish media outlets say the pirates, identified as Abdu Willy and Raageggesey Adji Haman, could go on trial in about two weeks.
Spanish prosecutors had urged the judge to file the charges in order to speed up the case of the suspected pirates.
Spanish officials have suggested exchanging the suspects for the Alakrana and its crew.
Pirates in Somalia have demanded a ransom of $4 million and the release of their colleagues in Spain.
Somali pirates are currently holding at least 12 ships with more than 200 crew members in all.
Last Thursday, Spain's defense minister called for a blockade of the three main ports from which the pirates operate. Carme Chacon said she will raise the idea at a meeting of European Union foreign and defense ministers this week.
The EU, along with NATO, the U.S., and other world powers, is conducting naval patrols of the Somali coastline in an effort to stop pirate hijackings.
The pirates have responded by attacking ships farther out to sea. The most recent hijacking, last Wednesday, took place in the north-central Indian Ocean, some 1,800 kilometers from Somalia.
