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Somali pirate takes a federal plea to hijacking charge to limit sentencing exposure

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this USA Today article, the "Somali man who helped commandeer the cargo ship Maersk Alabama last year has pleaded guilty in federal court in New York."  Here is why: Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse avoided life in prison after prosecutors dropped piracy charges.  He's facing 27 to 33 years in prison for pleading guilty to seizing a ship by force and kidnapping when he and three others attacked the ship as it passed off the coast of Somalia in April 2009. He was the only pirate to survive; his companions were killed by Navy Seals during the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips and his crew. He'll face a different fate from some of his countrymen. Earlier today in Yemen, six Somali pirates were sentenced to death for hijacking a Yemeni oil tanker, also in April 2009, Reuters reported...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 18, 2010 (boomark / email).