U.S. Sentences Pirate To 33+ Years in Prison

On Wednesday a federal judge in Virginia sentenced a Somali man to 33 years and nine months in prison for attacking the U.S. flagged Maersk Alabama off the coast of Africa in 2009.

Before issuing her sentence, Federal Judge Loretta Preska read letters from crewmembers who had been onboard during the attack. According to the letter some of the crew suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder and can no longer work, and two marriages ended in divorce as a result of the increased stress. Judge Preska said there was a need for deterrence and cited this need while issuing the sentence to Abdiqadir Muse.

Muse plead guilty last year to two federal counts of hijacking maritime vessels, two felon counts of kidnapping, and two felony counts of hostage taking. In 2009 Muse led a crew of armed pirates in an attack on a U.S. flagged merchant ship in the Indian Ocean, in which his crew took hostage of the ship’s captain on one of the life boats.

Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vermont was freed by the U.S. Navy after five intense day held hostage. Muse was arrested after he boarded the Maersk to negotiate for the captain’s safe return, while snipers picked off the pirates holding the captain.

Crew from the Maersk Alabama described Muse as the leader of the pirates and one crew member Collin Wright called for the maximum sentence against Muse during his testimony.

Following his sentencing Muse apologized for his acts and asked for forgiveness from the people he harmed and the U.S. government. He also said, “I’m sorry very much for what happened to victims on ship, I am very sorry about what I caused. I was recruited by people more powerful than me.”

Twice during his imprisonment Muse has tried to take his own life.

Earlier this month Muse was put in solitary confinement after being accused of ordering the murder of another hijacked vessel’s captain. The freed captain of a hijacked yacht, Gilbert Victor, told the FBI that his captors repeatedly told him that Muse had sent them a message from prison instructing them to kill the captain of another hijacked vessel, the Win Far 161.

The Win Far 161, a Taiwanese fishing vessel was hijacked in April 2009 and was held for 10 months until its owner paid for its release. The captain of the fishing boat was released unharmed along with his ship.
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PICTURED: The 28 foot lifeboat where Captain Richard Phillips and the four Somali pirates were held up as seen from a US Navy Scan Eagle UAV.