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Somali Pirate Pleads Not Guilty

2009_05_somapit.jpg Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the lone surviving pirate from the group that took an American container ship captain hostage in April, has pleaded not guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court this morning. The 10 counts in the indictment against him include piracy under the law of nations, conspiracy, hostage taking and kidnapping. Muse's age is in contention: Prosecutors say he is 19, based on statements from his father while his defense team says he's just 15. WCBS 2 spoke to one of Muse's lawyers, Phil Weiss, asking "what he saw when looked into his client's eyes." Weiss said, "A young scared kid in pain, I don't know whether he's a pirate or not. You asked me what I saw, that's what I saw." In related news, the captain that was held hostage, Richard Phillips, was honored as the Mariner of the Year at his alma mater, Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

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Comments [rss]

  • Karen

    Aaaaargh, you rat...smile now, because you won't be soon. Just be glad Jack McCoy won't get his hooks into you....Walk the plank!

    How's it feel, to know you're taking the fall for your pirate buds?

  • drewo

    How is a pirate different than a hijacker? Other than "pirate" looks cooler in newspaper headlines.

  • Brooklynbobby

    Weiss said, "A young scared kid in pain."

    Yeah, he looks really pained. His lawyer is just looking for some PR.

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