![]() All four pirates escaped with Phillips held hostage inside the lifeboat.Ī day later, the USS Bainbridge intercepted the lifeboat and navy officers negotiated with the armed pirates for hours and initially agreed to take Muse on board the Bainbridge to "meet" with elders from his clan to negotiate the release of Phillips. Attempting to exchange Phillips for Muse however goes sour, and the pirates forced Phillips into the lifeboat. Phillips offers Muse and his men money and to leave the Alabama safely on the lifeboat. ![]() The remaining crew took Muse captive and gave him first aid. Perry brought Muse to a secure room in the bowels of the ship where 14 other crew members were hiding. Muse ran away and was caught by Chief Engineer Mike Perry. Reza surprised Muse, stabbing him in his left hand with a knife. Muse and Reza left the three pirates behind with Phillips and the crew on the bridge and began searching the container ship's engine room. At some point, crew member ATM Reza convinced Muse to leave his firearm behind while searching the ship. After all four pirates were aboard, the men began interrogating Richard Phillips, the ship's captain, and at least two other crew members on the bridge. Muse is short in stature - Colleen Long and Larry Neumeister, writing for the Associated Press, reported that Muse was, "only five foot two inches (157 cm) tall."Ībduwali Muse tied up by the crew of the Alabama in a secure room at the bottom of the ship, near the engine room.Īccording to his indictment, Muse was the first of the four men to board the Maersk Alabama. Authorities state he was born in 1990, while his mother claims he was born in 1992, and his father states he was born in 1993. Navy ship off the coast of Africa.Muse was born in Galkayo, a divided city in Somalia. court in the state of Virginia found five Somali men guilty of firing at a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said in a statement that the sentence makes clear that piracy on the high seas is a crime against the international community that will not be tolerated.īut despite international naval patrols, pirates continue to operate in the waters off Somalia, and have been tried or are facing trial in several other countries including Germany, South Korea, Malaysia and India. "But if they’re not going to allow armed security, I think we should be able to protect ourselves with small arms." "We need some protection aboard our vessels and having armed security is very good, if they would put armed security on every ship," he said. He said U.S.-flagged ships need to be armed. However, the court found that Muse was over 18 at the time of the hijackings.Ĭolin Wright said he has returned to his work as a sailor, but still does not feel safe. Muse’s attorneys contended that extreme poverty led him to piracy, and that he was still in his mid-teens. Prior to his sentencing, Muse told the court through a translator that he was "very sorry," and asked forgiveness from those he had harmed. Muse had pleaded guilty in May to six counts related to hijacking maritime vessels, kidnapping and hostage-taking. And a sentence of 33, nearly 34 years, seems like a fairly short one for that." "He’s also responsible for his three companions being killed. "Seems like a very short time for the pain and trauma that he and his companions have caused," said Wright. ![]() ![]() Colin Wright, who had been third officer on the ship and spoke at the hearing, later told reporters that the sentence was not too harsh. Navy snipers shot and killed his three accomplices, rescuing Phillips. Muse, whom prosecutors said was the leader, allegedly fired an AK-47 assault rifle at the captain, Richard Phillips, and ordered him to stop the ship. ![]() District Judge Loretta Preska, saying Muse and his accomplices appeared to "relish their most depraved acts of physical and psychological violence," said a longer sentence was needed to deter other pirates.įollowing takeovers of two other ships, Muse and three accomplices climbed aboard the Maersk Alabama on April 8, 2009. Muse’s lawyers had sought the minimum, more lenient sentence of 27 years. A federal judge in New York has sentenced Somali pirate Abduwali Muse to 33 years and nine months in prison for hijacking a container ship in the Indian Ocean, taking the captain hostage, and for his role in two earlier ship hijackings.Ībduwali Abdiqadir Muse was sentenced to nearly 34 years in prison in an emotional hearing that included testimony from a survivor of the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, an American-flagged container ship, off the coast of Somalia. ![]()
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