Tag: SV Quest

He can't provide an adequate defense because Somalia is too dangerous to travel and gather evidence The attorney for a Somali man accused of being the highest-ranking pirate the U.S. has ever captured wants all charges against him dismissed.James Broccoletti wrote in a federal court filing Tuesday that he can't provide an adequate defense for Mohammad Saali Shibin because Somalia is too dangerous to travel to.He says his inability to gather evidence would result in an unfair trial. Shibin has been charged with piracy in the hijacking of the yacht Quest. It left all four Americans on board dead. He's also been charged in the hijacking of a German merchant ship.Prosecutors say Shibin acted as a land-based negotiator who researched how much ransom pirates should seek. If convicted of piracy, he faces a mandatory life sentence.Source: AP

Ali is one of 14 defendants charged Mounir Ali, a.k.a. "Muner Ali," 23, of Yemen, was sentenced in Norfolk federal court to life in prison for acts of piracy against the S/V Quest, which resulted in the murder of United States citizens Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Patricia Macay, and Robert Campbell Riggle. Ali previously pled guilty to the piracy charge on July 7, 2011.Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Russ, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Norfolk, made the announcement after Ali was sentenced by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis."Despite being a victim of piracy himself, Mr. Ali voluntarily joined his captors to attack and hold four Americans hostage for ransom," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "The greed for ransom money ultimately led to the cold-blooded murder of the hostages. Pirates who attack U.S. citizens on the high seas-whether successful or not, whether violent or not-must get the message that they will face lifelong consequences for ...

For hijacking the SV Quest Two more Somalis were sentenced by a US judge on Tuesday to life in prison on piracy charges in connection with a deadly attack on a yacht in February which killed four Americans. Mohamud Salad Ali, 35, and Ahmed Sala Ali Burale, 22, were the fifth and sixth defendants to be sentenced in the case in Norfolk, Virginia, before Federal Judge Mark Davis, court documents showed.Ali pleaded guilty on May 20 to the piracy charge and to a hostage taking resulting in death. He received concurrent life sentences on both charges. Burale pleaded guilty on May 25 to piracy under the law of nations and received a life sentence. According to court documents, Ali acknowledged that he served as a leader of the piracy operation, but stated in his plea agreement that he played no role in the murder of the four US citizens.Burale admitted that he joined the pirates for the sole purpose of making money. He also said that when the shooting started, he tried try to stop it by grabbing a shooter's rifle and pushing the barrel upward. The sentences were the latest in the attack on the Quest yacht. Jean and ...

Resulting in the death of two American couples Two Somali men were sentenced on Monday to spend the rest of their lives in a U.S. prison for their roles in the pirating of a yacht that ultimately resulted in the death of two American couples.Ali Abdi Mohamed, 30, and Burhan Abdirahman Yusuf, 31, were sentenced to the life prison terms in federal court in Norfolk after they pleaded guilty earlier this year to piracy of the S/V Quest vessel off the Somali coast."Today's sentences send a message to all those who participate in piracy that armed attacks on the high seas carry lifelong consequences," U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement.A group of Somali and Yemeni pirates seized the yacht on Feb. 18, and two went aboard the U.S. guided-missile warship USS Sterett to negotiate a possible ransom. But shooting broke out on the private yacht and the four Americans were killed.The pirates were captured by U.S. military forces and brought to Norfolk for prosecution.Nine others have also pleaded guilty to charges related to commandeering the yacht but not the shooting deaths of the Americans. They are all due to be sentenced in the coming weeks and also face ...

22 men held hostage for seven months as alleged negotiator secured ransom paid for release The man accused of being the negotiator for the ransom of four U.S. citizens held hostage on the high seas has been indicted for his alleged role in successfully extracting a ransom for a separate vessel and 22 hostages held by Somali pirates.Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; and Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement."Mr. Shibin is alleged to be among the select few who are entrusted with one of the most important tasks in Somali piracy-ensuring a ship's owners pay the maximum amount of ransom possible for the release of a hijacked vessel," said U.S. Attorney MacBride."The ransom paid for the Marida Marguerite capped a year where authorities estimate pirates received more than $100 million in ransom payments. The role he's accused of fulfilling for pirates on the Marida Marguerite is the same role he allegedly intended to fill for the Quest. This case is aimed at the heart of the piracy business, striking at ...

The man is accused of six new charges, including piracy and hostage taking A man accused of negotiating on behalf of Somali pirates in the deadly hijacking of a U.S. yacht has been indicted on charges he negotiated the ransom for the release of a German tanker and its 22 crew members, the government said Thursday.The accused, Mohammad Saali Shibin, is the biggest catch in the U.S. prosecution of pirates plaguing shipping lanes off the coast of Africa, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said outside the federal courthouse in Norfolk."Mr. Shibin is thought by the United Nations to be one of just a handful of senior pirate negotiators who operate from within Somalia," MacBride said.Shibin, a 50-year-old laid off oil worker, is multilingual and technologically savvy. Both skills are needed to assess the worth of a hijacked vessel and to negotiate with its owners or family members, MacBride said."Mr. Shibin is alleged to be among the select few who are entrusted with one of the most important tasks in Somali piracy - ensuring a ship's owners pay the maximum amount of ransom possible for the release of a hijacked vessel," McBride said.The indictment alleges Shibin received $30,000 to $50,000 for ...

Charges related with the murder of the couple of S/V Quest Three accused Somali pirates charged with taking two American couples hostage in the waters off Somalia and killing them in February pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a U.S. federal court in Virginia.Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar were accused of commandeering the S/V Quest yacht in February and then murdering the four Americans despite attempts by the U.S. military to negotiate their release.The Somalis entered their not guilty pleas to 26 counts related to the shooting, kidnapping and murdering of the two couples during an arraignment in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, according to court records.Most of the charges carry the death penalty if convicted.The four slain Americans were Jean and Scott Adam of California and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle.A group of 14 Somali and Yemeni pirates seized the yacht on Feb. 18, and one was aboard a U.S. warship negotiating a possible deal to release the couples when shooting broke out, prompting the U.S. military to send in special forces.The shooting on Feb. 22 began after the U.S. military had warned the pirates that they would block their course ...

Pirate attack resulted in murder of four U.S. citizens Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali, a/k/a Sanadaaq, 32; Mohamud Salad Ali, a/k/a Juguuf, 35; and Ali Abdi Mohamed, a/k/a Basher, 30, all of Somalia, pled guilty today in Norfolk federal court to acts of piracy and hostage taking against the S/V Quest, which resulted in the murder of United States citizens Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Patricia Macay and Robert Campbell Riggle.Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Russ, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Norfolk, made the announcement after the pleas were accepted by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis."These men have admitted to pirating an American yacht and holding four U.S. citizens hostage at gunpoint for ransom. Tragically, their piracy led to the execution of the four American hostages," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "Piracy is big business in Somalia, and today pirates got another reminder of the tremendous cost of participating in this criminal venture. If you pirate an American ...