If the Justice Department decides to try the 15 surviving Somali pirates being held for the murders of four U.S. boaters on Tuesday, legal experts say there are four courtrooms that could hold trials.
1) Southern District of New York. Abduwali Muse was tried here for the April, 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking. He pled guilty last May and was just sentenced to 33 years in prison. One of the reasons that case was tried in New York City was because the New York FBI Field Office holds jurisdiction over Somali piracy investigations.
2) Eastern District of Virginia. Here, five Somalis were convicted last November by a jury for the attack upon the USS Nicholas. These are the only U.S. prosecutors to have brought a Somali piracy case to trial and won convictions.
3) Central District of California. Scott and Jean Adam, the owners of the S/V Quest who suffered fatal injuries last Tuesday, used Marina del Rey, California as their home base.
4) Western District of Washington. Phyllis Mackay and Bob Riggle, the two other Americans who died on the yacht, were from Seattle.
The surviving pirates are being held aboard the USS Enterprise pending the decision on where to try them.
Source: Fox News
Category: International Maritime Injury Claims
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