Posted on 10/12/2013 8:10:46 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August , 2013
NORFOLK, Va. – Somali nationals Ahmed Muse Salad, a/k/a “Afmagalo,” 25, Abukar Osman Beyle, 20, and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 29, who were previously found guilty, by jury, of all 26 counts charged, to include: piracy, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, hostage taking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, and multiple firearms offenses, were sentenced today by a federal jury. The three defendants were sentenced to life-in-prison for their roles in the February 22, 2011, murder of four Americans aboard the sailing vessel Quest. The victims included: Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Patricia Macay, and Robert Campbell Riggle.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI’s New York Field Office; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Michael Monroe, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), made the announcement after the sentence was accepted by Chief United States District Court Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
“Four Americans were taken hostage, terrorized and then murdered. Life in prison is reserved for those who commit heinous crimes – and the jury today decided the execution of four innocent Americans on the high seas meets that high bar,” said United States Attorney Neil H. MacBride. “Scott Adam, Jean Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Robert Riggle lost their lives and their families lost their loved ones. Nothing can make this right; nothing can make their families whole again – but we hope today’s verdict and sentences will bring some closure to their nightmare that began two years ago on the Indian Ocean.”
“This case exemplifies the ongoing, outstanding cooperation between federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors,” said Norfolk SAC Royce Curtin. “Today’s sentencings should send a clear message to anyone committing acts of criminal violence against American citizens at sea that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades took four innocent Americans hostage aboard their own vessel. When negotiations reached an impasse, one pirate launched a grenade at a nearby U.S. Navy ship while others murdered four Americans aboard the Quest. Today’s life sentences provide a vigorous deterrent for armed bandits roaming our seas. The FBI's commitment to stopping this scourge of violence is unwavering.”
The defendants were previously indicted on July 8, 2011, by a federal grand jury on 26 counts, which included conspiracy to commit hostage taking, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit violence against maritime navigation resulting in death, piracy, and firearms offenses. The defendants were convicted on all 26 counts on July 8, 2013. According to court records and evidence at trial, Salad, Beyle, Abrar and others—armed with firearms and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG)—boarded the Quest while the four Americans slept on February 18, 2011. They gained control of the vessel and took the four American citizens as hostages. Their plan was to take the hostages to Somalia, where they and their additional co-conspirators in Somalia could commence ransom negotiations. While they sailed toward Somalia, the three defendants and their co-conspirators were taking turns standing armed guard over the hostages; at the same time, United States Navy ships headed towards the Quest to aid the hostages and prevent the Quest from proceeding to Somalia.
Beginning on February 19, 2011, communications had been established and the United States Navy and the FBI began negotiating with the pirates to secure the safe release of the hostages. On February 21, 2011, two co-conspirators representing the pirates onboard the Quest, were transferred to the USS Sterett to negotiate. The negotiations reached an impasse when the co-conspirators were told that they were not going to be allowed to take the hostages ashore in Somalia. The decision was made to detain the co-conspirators after they refused to release the hostages and threatened to kill them if they were not allowed to return to Somalia.
Testimony revealed that Abrar fired a shot over the head of Scott Adam and instructed Adam to tell the Navy that if the military came any closer, the conspirators would kill the hostages.
On February 22, 2011, without provocation and before the hostages could be rescued by members of the military, a co-conspirator fired an RPG in the general direction of the USS Sterett. Witnesses testified that sustained firing came from the Quest and that glass could be seen breaking on the starboard side of the Quest. Witnesses also testified that Salad, Beyle, and Abrar were the shooters and responsible for the deaths of Scott Adam, Jean Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Robert Riggle. After the gun fire died down, the Navy dispatched SEALS to the Quest. The pirates aboard the Quest began surrendering and some were seen throwing AK-47 rifles into the water.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph DePadilla, Brian J. Samuels, and Benjamin L. Hatch prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.
Good point! I think I’d accept living in a cell next to Charles Manson over waking up in Mogadishu every morning (or not waking up in Mogadishu)
They are not bozos; they are traitors to the United States of America!
They’ll probably live far more luxuriously in Club Fed than they would have back in Somalia.
I’m not so sure life in prison is worse than life in Somalia.
“Life in prison is reserved for those who commit heinous crimes – and the jury today decided the execution of four innocent Americans on the high seas meets that high bar,” said United States Attorney Neil H. MacBride.”
“Asymmetrical justice.”
Article I, Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power:The Congress shall have power, NOT the President, nor his cabinet, nor the Article III Courts, nor the States, nor any international organizations. The Framers gave the power to define and punish piracy and to make rules regarding their capture to Congress. If Congress want to mandate death penalties for piracy meeting their definition they can. The courts shouldn't have jurisdiction to block them. For non-citizen pirates the Congress gets to specify what is and is not reasonable regarding their capture, not some judge. Fourth amendment starts "The rights of the people…" Which people, non-citizens from halfway around the world? No, clearly the people refers to "We the people of the United States" in the Preamble. We may choose to be nice to non-citizens, but the Fourth doesn't require it.
...To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
...
We on the right frequently lambast Congress for acting beyond its constitutional limits. But sometimes Congress deserves blame for not acting where the Constitution enumerates it should. Congress has great power. And, in the words of Peter Parker, "With great power comes great responsibility."
Pirates,especially murderers don’t deserve life in prison, they deserve to be hung period.
I’ve been reading about Somali pirates for over a decade now.
I make sure to NEVER pour honey all over my body and then proceed to poke that giant beehive with a big stick.
while walking through the woods i don’t pour barbacue sauce all over me and then go explore a bear den.
In Compton i don’t wear a sign pointing out that blacks commmit over 80% of a violent crimes.
So, Why the F would i ever be stupid enough to be sound asleep on my millionaire luxury yacht off of the coast of Somalia?
apparently these rich morons don’t read the news...
No, like the victim of rape, they didn’t deserve it, everybody has the right to jog through central park alone at 2:30 am without getting gang raped but then again there is something called REAL LIFE that we all ultimately have to deal with.
Maybe they should have picked the carribean instead.....
Perhaps the oldest of the laws of the sea is the
prohibition of piracy , as the peril of being set
upon by pirates, who are motivated by their
own needs rather than by national allegiance , is
shared by the vessels and mariners of all
nations, and thus represents a crime upon all
nations; as such, since the time of the Ancient
Romans, pirates have been held to be
individuals waging a private warfare, a private
campaign of sack and pillage, against not only
their victims, but against all nations, and thus,
pirates hold the peculiar status of being
regarded as “hostis humani generis”, the
enemies of humanity. Since piracy anywhere is
a peril to every mariner and ship everywhere, it
is held to be the universal right and the
universal duty of all nations, regardless of
whether their ships have been beset by the
particular pirate captured, to capture, try by a
regularly constituted court-martial or admiralty
court (in extreme circumstances, by means of a
drumhead court-martial convened by the
officers of the capturing ship), and, if found
guilty, to execute the pirate via means of
hanging from the yard-arm of the capturing
ship, an authoritative Custom of the Sea.
If this NY Post article is correct, it was at least six hundred miles from Somalia:
“The sailing yacht was reportedly now enroute from India to Mina Raysut, the industrial port of Salalah, Oman,” Ecoterra added.
They were naive. Ghetto crime is well-known and a daily news item. Piracy is far less common.
Bookmark
:)
Yea after my rant i realized i actually had no idea where they were moored when this happened.
My bad...
They planned on continuing to Djibouti after calling at Salalah, Oman, requiring transit of the Gulf of Aden.
Somali pirates routinely venture hundreds of miles east off the coast of Somalia.
The S/V Quest was heading straight into their sights.
I would call them foolish, not naive.
anyone committing acts of criminal violence against American citizens at sea that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
But those committing criminal acts on land (such as Benghazi).....
AND what about those who commit criminal acts from the White House?
From mud hut to air conditioned cell. From rat stew to cheeseburgers. From a crap hole to Charmin Ultrasoft.
Gee, that is some deterrent.
Blaming the jury for DoJ screw-ups is just plain wrong. Part of the reason the Federal courts in VA are chosen for these sorts of cases is BECAUSE the juries are relatively harsh. AG holder’s DoJ couldn’t successfully prosecute their way out of a paper bag. Eric Holder’s DoJ sought the death penalty in this case and a few members of the jury didn’t agree.
A few jurors in this case apparently didn’t like the fact that several other pirates who they felt were just as culpable got off with lighter sentences while these four were targeted for the death penalty. And the only reason why the jury knew that is that DoJ had the other pirates testify in exchange for a further reduction of their sentences.
The majority of jurors were for the death penalty but a few held out. Jurors are allowed to do that. I don’t agree with the minority of jurors in this case, but those are the breaks. I don’t want a jury system that acts as a rubber stamp.
The fact that the city of Norfolk is 40%+ black is completely irrelevant. You’re confusing Norfolk with Chicago. Norfolk blacks will hand defendants their head just as quickly as Norfolk whites will. And it should be noted that the jury convicted the defendants. Where the disagreement arose was over sentencing.
Finally, the district court draws jurors from other surrounding cities that are larger and more conservative than Norfolk. I don’t know how many jurors were from what city, but I doubt that more than a few were from the city of Norfolk.
A life sentence is only appropriate if it is a short life sentence and then they get released from a yardarm. Why would we reward these creeps with housing, provender, and medical care for longer than 48 hours or so?
The Russians are not so cruel as that. They released the pirates they captured, but they forgot to give them oars or something to bail with.
Why spend our borrowed Chinese money taking care of these pirates? Just hang the evil bastards from a yardarm!
......been living in the “Caribbean” for nearly two years. Murder rate while I was there in the US Virgin Islands was 42 per 100k of population which puts it to the 8th most dangerous place in the world to be.
On St Maarten, the Kings, a white couple fiftyish were hacked to death with
machetes. This was while I was there and only a mile away in a secure (they thought) condo project.
I now note that Detroit’s murder rate is 54 per 100k making it the most dangerous place in the world. Wanna take a guess at factors common to both that we are all scared to talk about.
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