Were they really sent home?

Much is being made today of the news that the Russian navy has released pirates captured off the coast of East Africa due to what the Russians describe as a legal mix up. Speculation runs rampant that the Russians actually executed the pirates. So the question one properly must ask is this: "Who cares?" These are pirates who boarded a tanker and held its crew hostage. These are pirates who placed the crew in a life threatening situation. If the Russians followed the old law of the sea and executed the pirates, I certainly do not care. Indeed, the Russians would be totally within their legal rights to execute the pirates -- the convention with regards to piracy allows the country that apprehends the pirates to decide their punishment. It does not specify that there must be a trial; nor does it specify the nature of the punishment.