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With Somali pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse set to stand trial as an adult for the hijacking a U.S. container ship and holding its captain hostage for days, his mother is again begging for some sympathy for her son. Adar Abdirahman Hassan, who previously asked President Obama to pardon Muse—or at least that she be allowed to be with him during the trial—now says, "I plead with American judges not to commit an injustice against [Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse] and hand down an unfair verdict on my son."
A defense lawyer not working on the case told the Daily News about a possible strategy: Playing up Muse's background. Martin Geduldig said, "You've got an 18-year-old kid who has no education. He's as poor as they come, and he got caught up with these pirates. In a sense, he's as much a victim as anybody else."
As for the prosecution strategy, the AP points out that one of the charges, "piracy under the law of nations," could be problematic because the law is obscure (it hasn't been used regularly since the 19th century) and defining piracy is "murky," especially when compared to the other charges like discharging a firearm. Therefore, prosecutors have "set up a scenario in which they could eventually drop the piracy count in a plea bargain if legal questions are raised about it."
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Fuck you Martin Geduldig.
You do realize he's just a random defense lawyer who was asked for a hypothetical defense strategy by a reporter, right?
Fuck you for skimming Huffy6241...
fuck you for fucking him for fucking Geduldig.
fuck you for fucking him for fucking Geduldig.
sorry, i can't figure out why all my posts are double-posting (i does nuffing rong!)
Stop clicking twice, once is enough.
I think this was one of the major objections to treating acts like terrorism, or in this case piracy, as a by-the-books law enforcement/legal matter.
This armed man man illegally boarded a ship containing relief aid with other pirates, held its captain hostage, demanded a ransom for the captain's release, and was lucky enough not to be killed by SEAL snipers.
Now the legal case against him is "murky" and "he's as much a victim as anyone else"?
Ideally, I think the best course of action would be to acknowledge that there was no satisfactory way for the U.S. to mete out justice in this matter, release him from custody, point in the direction of Somalia, and then throw him off the back of the naval vessel where he was being held. He found his way out there; let him find his way back.
When something hasn't been prosecuted in over 100 years, there are going to be some fits and starts.
Plus if you read the article, you'll see the issues are not as large as the Gothamist blurb makes them out to be. This guy is charged with 5 crimes and only one does not have a potential penalty of life in prison.
There's not much question Somalia is one of the most fucked up places on the planet - especially with those sketchy Italian assholes dumping all their nuclear waste just offshore! Everyone in Somalia is starving to death and people will do crazy things in those situations.
That being said, you can't commit an act that everyone on the planet calls a crime and expect not to get in trouble. I'd think American jail is preferable to Somalia.
He's not even dead yet and he's a martyr.
Mercy? This guy is going to live a better life in prison, not only than anyone in Somalia, but better than me, too.
His presence in NYC is mercy already. I'd be fuckin smiling, too.
There are pop songs in Nigeria highlighting the virtues of an internet-scammmer's life. Do the same kind of songs exist in Somalia about being a pirate?
There are also rap songs in America that 'highlighting the virtues' of murder, rape and robbery. Does that make it okay?
YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUUUMMMMMMM
ITS A PIRATES LIFE FOR MEEEEE
In times of yore they knew how to handle pirates - they killed them dead and obliterated their homes.
Didn't they say this is the one who shot at the Captain when he tried to escape ? Forget piracy, what about kidnapping, extortion, attempted murder ?
Why does the SDNY have jurisdiction over him?
Case was given to SDNY because of their history of complex terrorism cases.
When will he be ARRRR-aigned?
well, the pirates said they learned from the ordeal and will be more willing to kill hostages. i hope the ship crews, security forces, and navies of the world also learn from this and shoot to kill at first sight in these pirate situations
You people are so unsympathetic to the mother's plea. Please bring her over here flying first class and put her up in a five star hotel so she can witness this travesty of justice brought on her son. During that time she can have the opportunity to rob a bodega and get caught trying to move the beverage cooler out the door and be sent to prison where she will get three hots and a cot. Happy ending for crying mama.
Sure beats spending the summers in downtown Mogadishu.
Normally, Somali pirates are handed over to Kenyan Authorities. Bringing him to NY to punish him with cable TV, prison exercise, healthy diet and an education as a form of deterrence to other pirates may not be the best idea.
How come he didn't get shot?
Pirates are also people who download illegally. Was he doing the same thing? Where are the MPAA and RIAA in this?
Let Judge Judy have this one.
One of the problems is the cited status of the international law regarding piracy (which I have not researched, but could provide a few interesting hours). If it's vague, it should be revamped given the current situation. It's ridiculous to rely on international concensus in such a matter, as that could take centuries. Since the death penalty is rightly an anathema to so many societies, our response could be an Exec Order that anyone attempting to board a US flag vessel will be shot on sight. Those that do complete a boarding will have no negotiation, have their vessels sunk, and, upon reassuming control of the seized vessel, will be deposited sans support in the area of the seizure. It's not a death sentence, just a test of how long they can tread water. And if they came from a larger mothership, that vessel will be sunk. Let the other nations deal with it their way. Just let the armed hijackers know that to threaten a US flag vessel means nothing but lead, a 200 mile swim, and no booty. And don't think you can solve the problem by throwing money at the Somali govt. Our grand experiment of public housing, welfare mommas, methadone, etc. shows that you just can't reason with some people. Take away the reward. If they starve, get shot during criminal activity, can't get their own stuff together, screw em'.
Their country is the way it is because of them. Not our problem, keep your hands off our shipping or pay the consequences.