MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Two of the eight men detained last week on suspicion of hijacking the Arctic Sea cargo ship have launched an appeal against their arrest, a spokeswoman for the Moscow City Court said on Tuesday.

The Maltese-flagged vessel, which had been missing in the Atlantic for more than two weeks, was discovered off Cape Verde on August 16 by Russia's Ladny warship.

Spokeswoman Yelena Usachyova said that the dates for consideration of their appeals in the court have not yet been finalized.

Last Friday, Moscow's Basmanny District Court remanded in custody eight unemployed residents of Estonia in the case. All eight deny accusations of piracy and hostage-taking.

Under international law, suspected pirates are tried in the country whose forces detain them. The men face up to 20 years in prison.