Saturday, April 18, 2009
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The scrawny teenage pirate stormed the Maersk Alabama hoping for a share of a $3 million ransom. He was attacked by its sailors, stabbed in the hand and tied up, and later arrested by the U.S. Navy.
The wound probably saved the life of Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, who was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge for medical treatment before snipers killed his three comrades holding American skipper Richard Phillips hostage in a lifeboat.
Now Wal-i-Musi awaits a flight to the United States for trial — a rare instance of a piracy case advancing through the justice system.
In fact, most pirates plucked from the seas by warships of various countries are simply set free because of the many pitfalls along the path to prosecution.
“Prosecuting detained pirates — that is simply not our business,” said Cmdr. Achim Winkler of a European Union flotilla that has nine warships and three maritime patrol planes guarding shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.
As the world grapples with the scourge of piracy in the busy waters off the Horn of Africa, the United States and other countries are calling for the bandits to be held accountable. Some even are considering a special tribunal.
A Kenya-based diplomat of another country that patrols those waters says putting pirates on trial is “still a lot of hassle.” Pirate boats often are destroyed to prevent the pirates from getting back to sea, but unless they’re caught in the act, his navy’s policy is to set the marauders free.
“While nobody would advocate the ancient naval tradition of just making them walk the gangplank, equipment like GPSes, weapons [and] ladders are often just tossed overboard and the pirates let go,” said the diplomat, who asked that his name not be used because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.