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| Africa Horn | |
| Somali pirate to stand trial as adult in US | |
| 2009-04-23 | |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] A teenaged pirate captured by United States forces in a high-seas drama off Somalia was ordered to stand trial as an adult Tuesday on charges that could put him in jail for life. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the sole surviving accused pirate from the foiled bid to hijack huge U.S. container ship the Maersk Alabama earlier this month, was put in custody until his next court appearance on May 21. Muse, who prosecutors said "conducted himself as the leader of the pirates," is charged with piracy, conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to commit hostage taking and related firearms offenses. The captain of the Maersk Alabama, Richard Phillips, was held hostage on a lifeboat for several days after he volunteered to go with the pirates in exchange for the crew. He was rescued when U.S. Navy snipers killed three pirates and captured Muse. A crime against all nations
"An act of piracy against one nation is a crime against all nations," Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin said in a statement. "Pirates target ships and cargo, but threaten international commerce and human life." Muse was first to board the ship, took the lead in issuing demands and said he had hijacked other ships, according to the complaint. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Deirdre von Dornum, one of Muse's lawyers, said the legal team was investigating the possibility Muse may have been "kidnapped and taken hostage." She also said she was looking into whether the Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of war captives, applies in this case since Somalia is engaged in civil war. Parts of the hearing were closed to the public due to questions about whether Muse was less than 18 years old. Defense attorney Philip Weinstein said he spoke to Muse's father in Somalia, who said his son is 15 years old but prosecutors said Muse told the FBI he was 18. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck eventually ruled Muse is 18 years old. No money Muse at one point cried out and appeared to wipe away a tear. When told by the judge he would be represented by lawyers free of charge, he said through a Somali translator, "I understand. I don't have any money." Photographs of Muse arriving on Monday showed him smiling broadly, while local media reported he did not speak English and seemed unaware of the gravity of his situation. Asked about that by reporters, Weinstein said, "He comes from a place with no electricity, no water" and has a "very limited education." "He is obviously scared, confused and is obviously troubled by what's going on," Weinstein said. The teenager, wearing a dark blue prison jumpsuit over a red T-shirt, was not required to appear in court but von Dornum said she wanted him to "so that he would be able to understand what was happening and have some trust in us." He wore a large, white bandage over his left hand. Professor of international law at Fordham Law School Thomas Lee said he believed this to be the first piracy charges brought in more than a century since the Spanish American War. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 Too bad he didn't go to Kenya. |
| Posted by: Jan 2009-04-23 19:39 |
| #11 Dude will end up on The View telling the shrews how the awful Bush policies are to blame for the pirate 'problem'. |
| Posted by: Zorba Craising6734 2009-04-23 18:11 |
| #10 And no deterrent. Pirates know they risk their life any minute. You think that "don't do this or you will be sent to a US jail" will make a difference? Spot on. The worst prison in the US is paradise compared to what the Somalis made for themselves. It's a waste of our resources and an attractant to more piracy. Crewman says pirate glad to have attacked US ship A crewman from the Maersk Alabama says the sole surviving pirate -- who now faces charges in the U.S. -- seemed happy that he'd raided an American vessel. The crewman -- "Zahid" Reza -- says Abdiwali Muse told him it was his dream to come to the USA. Reza stabbed Muse in the hand during a struggle on the ship and guarded him for several hours. Via Instapundit. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-23 17:56 |
| #9 So the question is whether we will run out of time or money first |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2009-04-23 17:15 |
| #8 But transporting teenage boys to the U.S. for a trial and subsequently spending a million dollars I'll consider us very lucky if we end up spending only a million on this circus of a trial. |
| Posted by: Zorba Craising6734 2009-04-23 17:04 |
| #7 "Everything That pretty much sums up the Bambi adminstration, EC. :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-04-23 16:00 |
| #6 I (almost) find this problematic. Here's a teenager growing up in an environment where he possibly never had a decent chance to comprehend that what he was doing was a "crime against all nations". A little less dramatism here, please. That boy grows up with a bunch of people and he does what everyone does. He's growing up in a place where nothing of the moral values that a 16yo American boy would be accustomed to applies. Thousands of boy soldiers in Africa are in the same position. I could see other people better suited to be made an example of. When in fight throw those pirates into the sea, fair enough. But transporting teenage boys to the U.S. for a trial and subsequently spending a million dollars on his possible life incarceration is a waste of time and money. And no deterrent. Pirates know they risk their life any minute. You think that "don't do this or you will be sent to a US jail" will make a difference? The average U.S. jail will be better than the average life in Somalia. Sorry, the current strategy doesn't work. That's not how you fight piracy. You need to wipe out their bases on firm land, Tortuga or Somalia. Everything else is a waste of time and money. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2009-04-23 14:50 |
| #5 I'm a dumbo but... why the hell is this guy in the US? What good can possibly come of having this guy on trial in the US? |
| Posted by: Dumbo acting dumb 2009-04-23 13:57 |
| #4 She also said she was looking into whether the Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of war captives, applies in this case since Somalia is engaged in civil war. Another "person" confused about what the Geneva Conventions are all about, and how and where they apply. He was NOT acting as a combattant when trying to capture the Mearsk Alabama - he was acting as a pirate, a kidnapper, and an extortionist. The Geneva Conventions apply to nations at war with other nations, not to any group of hairy, arrogant morons with a weapon. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-04-23 12:30 |
| #3 Wait until the left makes him a "cause-celebre". The tip jar at Daily Kos and Puffington Host will be overflowing. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2009-04-23 11:17 |
| #2 "I understand. I don't have any money." Ooo but I almost had a whole bunch of money! |
| Posted by: flash91 2009-04-23 11:14 |
| #1 I hope the bailiffs x-ray that bandage every time he shows up in court. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-04-23 08:28 |