PARENTS WELCOME MOVE OVER `KILLING BY PIRATES'
The Independent - United Kingdom ; 21-Apr-2000 12:00:00 am 

AN EXAMINING magistrate has been appointed by France to investigate the death of a young Scottish adventurer allegedly murdered by pirates.

The appointment was welcomed yesterday by the parents of Alan MacLean, 28, who have been calling for a full investigation since their son was allegedly shot when five pirates boarded the yacht on which he was sailing off Somalia last September. The boat's French captain, Philippe Sorel, said Mr MacLean died after trying to defend himself with a didgeridoo, and that his body was buried at sea because of hot weather and the vessel's distance from land.

But his parents, Neil and Dorothea, of Aberdeen, doubt that version. Mr Maclean said the appointment was "a great step forward. It's only a month ago that we were told this case had been put into abeyance."

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