Maritime Accident News

Pirate sentenced to 33 years in prison

A U.S. District Court sentenced a Somali pirate to over 33 years of prison time for the April 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking. Judge Loretta A. Preska issued the maximum sentence of 33 years, nine months to pirate leader Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse. The Judge read letters from some of the crewmembers including Capt. Richard Phillips, who was held hostage in a covered lifeboat until Navy SEALS shot his captors. Court papers said that the pirates played Russian Roulette by putting a gun to his head, pulling the trigger, and then laughing after the gun did not go off. Colin Wright, another officer, appeared in person asking the judge for a lengthy prison term. He said his life will never be the same.  Muse pled guilty in 2010 to charges of hijacking, kidnapping and hostage-taking. Before sentencing, he apologized to his victims through an interpreter while claiming that he was just a desperate minor player in the criminal syndicate.

Source: Navy Times

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