Saturday, April 28, 2012
Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va.
A Somali man was convicted of piracy Friday for his role as a hostage negotiator in the hijacking of a German merchant vessel and U.S. yacht. The four Americans aboard the yacht were shot to death by pirates, and the crew on the other vessel was tortured to get a higher ransom.
Mohammad Saaili Shibin was convicted of the 15 charges he faced, including kidnapping, hostage-taking and weapons charges. He faces a mandatory life sentence.
“Today’s verdict marks the conviction of the highest-ranking Somali pirate ever brought to the United States,” U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement. “He was among an elite fraternity of pirate negotiators — the vital link to any successful pirate attack. His skills were essential to obtain a ransom for those who attacked the vessel and the financiers who paid for the attack.”
Prosecutors said Shibin received at least $30,000 for his role as a hostage negotiator aboard the Marida Marguerite, which was ransomed for $5 million in 2010 after nearly two dozen mostly Indian crew members were held captive for about eight months.
No payment ever was made for the U.S. sailing vessel Quest after it was hijacked in 2011. Shibin’s role was to serve as the negotiator once the Americans were brought back to Somalia. But the plan fell through when the U.S. Navy started shadowing the yacht. The Navy agreed to let the pirates keep the sailboat but said it wouldn’t let them return to Somalia with the Americans.