Lawyers Say Somali Pirates Tortured Crew Onboard German Tanker
A federal court ruling reveals that Somali pirates tortured the crew onboard a hijacked German tanker to find more information about the ship’s fuel reserves and to extract a higher ransom.
The filing is part of a petition by the U.S. government to prosecute Mohammad Saaili Shibin – an accused pirate thought to be the highest-ranking pirate the U.S. has ever captured. U.S. officials say Shibin acted as a land based negotiator, researching potential victims to determine their wealth and secure the highest payoffs.
Shibin is facing several charges, including hostage taking, for his roles in the May 8, 2010 hijacking of the German owned tanker, Marida Marguerite and the February hijacking of the private yacht QUEST, where the four Americans onboard were executed.
Shibin’s lawyers want the piracy charges dismissed because they say he did not commit a robbery at sea – but prosecutors contend that the crew (19 Indians, 1 Ukrainian and 2 Bangladeshi) onboard the Marida Marguerite continued to be held after the ship had reached the Somali coast.
Pirates onboard the Marida Marguerite resorted to torture in order to extract information on the ships fuel, water supply and communications system. Details of the torture were not given but the ruling did say that the crew was held at gunpoint. The Times of India gave an account of the torture in January after an interview with one of the sailors who was onboard. Twenty-six year old Sudhanshu Pandey, told the Times that the pirates “would physically torture us, wanting to know the whereabouts of the ship’s authorities and the turnover company. They would also parade us naked, hang us upside down by tying our hands and legs and hit us on our backside with AK-47 guns. They tortured us for a month this way.”
The tanker was released on December 28, 2010 after being held for 250 days. Court documents also revealed that Shibin, a multilingual former oil worker, received between $30,000 and $50,000 for his role in securing ransom for the German tanker – a ransom estimated to be in the millions.
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