NORFOLK, Va. – Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali, a/k/a Sanadaaq, 32, and Jilani Abdiali, a/k/a Ilkasse, 20, both of Somalia, were sentenced today in Norfolk federal court to life in prison for their acts of piracy against the S/V Quest, which resulted in the murder of United States citizens Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Read More »
NORFOLK, Va. – Three men from Somalia have been charged in a 26-count superseding indictment with the kidnapping, hostage-taking and murder of four U.S. citizens during the alleged piracy against the S/V Quest. Twenty-two of the 26 counts are death-eligible offenses related to the murders of Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Patricia Macay and Robert Campbell Riggle on Feb. 22, 2011. To date, 11 of the 14 charged in connection with the attack on the Quest have pled guilty to mandatory life in prison.
WASHINGTON – Ali Mohamed Ali, 48, has been indicted for conspiracy to commit piracy and other charges that allege he acted as a negotiator on behalf of Somali pirates during the takeover of a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Ali, also known as Ismail Ali or Ahmed Ali Adan, had been residing in Somalia. He was arrested on April 20, 2011 at Dulles International Airport. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance April 26, 2011 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictment, returned April 15, 2011 and unsealed today, charges him with conspiracy to commit piracy, piracy under the law of nations, attack to plunder a vessel, and aiding and abetting in the crimes. If convicted of the charges, he faces a sentence of up to life in prison. This marks the first time that charges have been filed in the District of Columbia against a person accused of negotiating and receiving a ransom in an act of piracy.
An Italian-flagged cargo ship bound for Brazil with a shipment of soybeans was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden Thursday morning. Pirates attacked the Rosalia D’Amato, which is operated by Naples-based Perseveranza, about 350 nautical miles off the coast of Salalah, Oman.
WASHINGTON – Jama Idle Ibrahim, a/k/a Jaamac Ciidle, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for a violent act of piracy in the Gulf of Aden against a merchant vessel, the M/V CEC Future, that began in November 2008 and lasted for 71 days, until January 16, 2009.Ibrahim, 39, of Somalia, pled guilty on September 8, 2010 to conspiracy to commit piracy under the law of nations and conspiracy to use a firearm during and in relation to a crime ofviolence. He received the maximum penalty of five years in prison for the piracy conspiracy charge and the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the firearm conspiracy charge.
A Kuwait-owned oil tanker was hijacked by Somali pirates on Monday, naval officials confirm. The MV ZIRKU was traveling about 250 miles off the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Aden when pirates in two skiffs began firing rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. Pirates later boarded the tanker.
“At approximately 0900 (GMT) on 28 March, the Crude Oil Tanker the MV ZIRKU was pirated approximately 250 nautical miles southeast of Salalah in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden,” the European Union Naval Force said in a post on its website.
The ZIRKU, which was carrying a crew of 29, was en route to Singapore when it was seized. The condition of the crew is unknown. It is unclear how much oil the vessel was carrying. No other details were available
NYT > World