The seven Somali pirates arrested by the Malaysian navy in the Gulf of Aden in January were charged in Malaysia Friday, and could be sentenced to death if convicted.

The Malaysian Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said in Kuala Lumpur on Friday that the pirates had been charged under the firearms-related act for shooting at Malaysian armed forces with the intention to hurt or kill.

Abdul Gani said the pirates could be tried as if the crime happened in Malaysia because the crime was done against Malaysians.

The Malaysian navy launched a swift fightback against the pirates after being alerted by a Malaysian merchant ship at the Gulf of Aden that was about to be hijacked by the pirates on Jan. 20.

Firearms were used by the Malaysian navy to attack the pirates, arresting seven of them and bringing them to Malaysia for trial.

The pirates arrived in Malaysia on Jan. 31, and have been held under detention since then.

Malaysia is the fifth country to charge Somali pirates after South Korea, the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands in an international clamp down on the more than 150-year-old piracy problem in the Gulf of Aden.