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Somali teen pirate to stand trial as adult in US

talloulou

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A teenaged pirate captured by US forces in a high-seas drama off Somalia was ordered to stand trial here as an adult on charges that could put him in jail for life.

Abdi Wali Abdi Khadir Muse, wearing a blue T-shirt and with head lowered as he entered the court with an interpreter, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge of piracy, prosecutors said.

Judge Andrew Peck ruled the young Somali would be tried as an adult after rejecting a claim by the defendant's father that Muse was only 15 years old. Prosecutors said he was over 18.

"Mr Muse's father's testimony was not credible," said Peck. "The court ruled that the defendant must be treated as an adult."

The five charges filed against Muse were piracy "under the law of nations," conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to take hostages, and discharging and brandishing a firearm in the course of a hostage-taking.

Muse could well spend the rest of his life unless acquitted. The piracy charge alone carries a mandatory life sentence, while three other charges carry maximum sentences of life.

Muse was allegedly one of four Somali pirates who boarded the US container ship Maersk Alabama on April 8, and later fled taking its American captain, Richard Phillips, as a hostage in a small life boat.
AFP: Somali teen pirate to stand trial as adult in US

This should be an interesting trial. I hope it's covered by the media so I can follow it.

This part is interesting:

Muse, who prosecutors described as the group's leader, was taken into custody April 12 after he boarded the USS Bainbridge to demand safe passage in return for Phillips's release.

He boarded one of our ships for negotiation and while he was on board "negotiating" we took the rest of his mates out. :shock: That seems wrong somehow.
 
Biological measures should be used to give the best approximation of the pirates age, and then he should be tried according to that age.
 
He boarded one of our ships for negotiation and while he was on board "negotiating" we took the rest of his mates out. :shock: That seems wrong somehow.

That is just wrong.
US is probably just playing witch hunt with the only one left alive.

Besides, shouldn't a Somali pirate be tried in Africa at least?
 
Yes that is what we are doing conducting a witch hunt of a poor innocent pirate that stole from people and threatend their lives. I mean I am sure we dont have any evidence other than the fact the he was caught in the act of piracy. We should just send him back to somollia with a few thousand dollars for wasting his time.
 
He'll have a better life in prison in the USA then he did in Somalia.
He will likely get a light sentence(age or plea bargain excuse) or be released early... 10 years from now he'll be a blip in the news...20-25 and he won't even be that.
He will then be granted US citizenship(or some form of permanent residency) and reside until his death by natural causes in the US.

Yeah it sucks for him...

For all intents he won the lottery ticket of the "waterborne overseas contingency operation"
 
I think we should just waterboard the kid. Since that is so heinous and barbaric it ought to be punishment enough.:mrgreen:
 
He'll have a better life in prison in the USA then he did in Somalia.
He will likely get a light sentence(age or plea bargain excuse) or be released early... 10 years from now he'll be a blip in the news...20-25 and he won't even be that.
He will then be granted US citizenship(or some form of permanent residency) and reside until his death by natural causes in the US.

Yeah it sucks for him...

For all intents he won the lottery ticket of the "waterborne overseas contingency operation"

The kid could potentially get life in prison. Life in a foreign country. Furthermore it's highly doubtful that a Somali pirate would ever be granted citizenship. And he was a pirate. He was balling over there in Somalia. He probably had a couple of wives and they were probably the hottest gals in town. Especially if he was the so called leader at such a young age. I sincerely doubt going to a US prison will be viewed as some lottery winning bonus. Jeezus.
 
Fifteen or eighteen doesn't matter. He's a grown man and can face our legal system like one.
 
Fifteen or eighteen doesn't matter. He's a grown man and can face our legal system like one.

I never understood that line of thinking. Either age matters or it doesn't. Either a 15 year old is a man or he is not. They can't legally be both. If we legally treat minors as children then we shouldn't arbitrarily treat them like men when it suits us IMO.
 
That is just wrong.
US is probably just playing witch hunt with the only one left alive.

Besides, shouldn't a Somali pirate be tried in Africa at least?

So.. if I was off the coast of somalia, breaking their laws... or attacked one of their shipping vessels.. (lol, that's a giggle in it's own)...

Should I be charged and tried in Somalia? Or my home country?

I eagerly await your response. :roll:
 
That is just wrong.
US is probably just playing witch hunt with the only one left alive.

Besides, shouldn't a Somali pirate be tried in Africa at least?

US Flagged vessel == US Territory == US has the right to give him a fair trial and a first-rate hanging.
 
US Flagged vessel == US Territory == US has the right to give him a fair trial and a first-rate hanging.

Even if he boarded that US vessel to negotiate a release of his hostage? I always thought there were some rules about that sort of thing. Guess not.
 
That is just wrong.
US is probably just playing witch hunt with the only one left alive.

Witch hunt?

:rofl :rofl :rofl

Besides, shouldn't a Somali pirate be tried in Africa at least?

By long-standing international law, piracy can be tried in any country. And why would any African country be any more legitimate if this happened, as you claim, in Somali waters?
 
Even if he boarded that US vessel to negotiate a release of his hostage? I always thought there were some rules about that sort of thing. Guess not.

Between nation states, maybe (maybe), but not with a gang of criminals.
 
He'll have a better life in prison in the USA then he did in Somalia.
He will likely get a light sentence(age or plea bargain excuse) or be released early...

US law specifies one penalty, and only one penalty, for piracy -- life imprisonment.
 
He boarded one of our ships for negotiation and while he was on board "negotiating" we took the rest of his mates out. :shock: That seems wrong somehow.

Yes. For some reason he wasn't killed on the spot. Shameful, isn't it?
 
I never understood that line of thinking. Either age matters or it doesn't. Either a 15 year old is a man or he is not. They can't legally be both. If we legally treat minors as children then we shouldn't arbitrarily treat them like men when it suits us IMO.

Actually, the separate juvenile justice system is a relatively recent development.
 
Even if he boarded that US vessel to negotiate a release of his hostage? I always thought there were some rules about that sort of thing. Guess not.

"Pirate", remember? Cockroaches of the sea. Stomp'em, burn'em, or hang'em. So long as they wind up dead, it doesn't matter.

If they don't want to wind up dead, let them make better career choices.
 
US law specifies one penalty, and only one penalty, for piracy -- life imprisonment.



LOL

Being a Traitor = death. According to US LAW.

Go ask John Walker how that worked out after his plea bargain....
 
That is just wrong.
US is probably just playing witch hunt with the only one left alive.

Besides, shouldn't a Somali pirate be tried in Africa at least?
He was captured in international waters. The capturing party has jurisdiction.
 
Biological measures should be used to give the best approximation of the pirates age, and then he should be tried according to that age.
Its pretty clear he knew exactly what he was doing, and all of its implications.
When that happens, people under 18 are tried as adults.
 
I never understood that line of thinking. Either age matters or it doesn't. Either a 15 year old is a man or he is not. They can't legally be both. If we legally treat minors as children then we shouldn't arbitrarily treat them like men when it suits us IMO.

Well the way our society is headed, we might as well extend the juvenile system out to 25 years of age, since most people are still acting like a bunch of kids at that age anyway.

I think the human conscience is developed enough in most cases, by the age of fifteen, to be able to determine between right and wrong. They can make "adult" choices regarding their sexuality and other things, they should be expected to reap the consequences(or rewards) of their actions.
 
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