Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse
Encyclopedia
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse (also transliterated Abdul Wali Muse and Wal-i-Musi, among others) is a Somali
pirate and the sole survivor of a group of four who attacked the MV Maersk Alabama
and held the captain for ransom at gunpoint. On February 16, 2011, he was sentenced to over 33 years in federal prison in the first trial of a pirate to occur in the United States in decades.
, in Puntland
—one of two semi-autonomous states in the north of Somalia. His mother claimed he was born 1992, and his father claimed he was born 1993.
Assistant United States Attorney
Brendan McGuire informed U.S. District Court Judge Andrew J. Peck at a hearing to determine Muse's age that he had told Americans he was 16, 18, 19, and 26 years old. Colleen Long and Larry Neumeister, writing for the Associated Press
, reported that Wali Muse was only five foot two inches (157 cm) tall. Due to his small stature, American prison officials had not been able to supply him with clothes that fit him.
in an American court in more than 100 years, when courts ruled in 1885 that the Ambrose Light
was not a pirate vessel. A more recent case United States v. Shi
, which was quoted in his indictment, involves murder and a crew member taking over a ship and holding a hostage.
The indictment does not name the two vessels involved, hijacked in April and May 2009, but they are likely to be the FV Win Far 161
.
in New York City
.
According to the New York Daily News
he is 17 to 19 years old. He was charged, and was to stand trial in New York
because of the expertise of the New York FBI office in handling cases where major crimes were perpetrated against Americans in Africa. His mother claims that he was innocent, and 16 years old. CBC News
reported that U.S. authorities had considered transferring him to Kenyan custody.
CBC News reported on speculation over his age. When initially captured his age was estimated to be between 16 and 20. On April 16, 2009, United States Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates
stated that all four pirates were between 17 and 19. On April 20, 2009, CBC News reported that U.S. officials stated they had confirmed he was over 18. If they believed he was under 18 there would have been "further steps" required to prosecute him.
However, CBC News interviewed his mother, who stated the U.S. had both his name and age wrong. She stated he was only 16 and that his name was Abdi Wali Abdulqadir Muse. His mother, Adar Abdurahman Hassan, also appealed to the U.S. government and President Barack Obama
to free her son, in an interview with the BBC
Somali
service.
According to Ron Kuby
, a civil rights lawyer who has considered offering his services to Wali Muse:
However, later analysts pointed out that Mr. Kuby's analysis was incorrect. The principles of truce in warfare on the high seas apply to nations and their official military forces—not to pirates.
In a court ruling on April 21, 2009, U.S. magistrate judge Andrew J. Peck decided Wali Muse was not under 18, and that he could be tried as an adult. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse has been brought to New York to face trial on charges including piracy under the law of nations, conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, and firearms related charges, carrying a potential of up to four life sentences. The charge of piracy has a mandatory life sentence (18 USC 1651 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=piracy%20law%20nations&url=/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001651----000-.html), and there is no parole in U.S. federal prisons.
On May 19, 2009, a federal grand jury
in New York
returned a ten-count indictment against Wali Muse.
He pled guilty to the to hijacking, kidnapping and hostage-taking charges on 18 May 2010. Charges of piracy and possession of a machine gun
were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.
On February 16, 2011 Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months in federal prison. Muse is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Indiana.
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
pirate and the sole survivor of a group of four who attacked the MV Maersk Alabama
MV Maersk Alabama
MV Maersk Alabama is a container ship owned by Maersk Line Limited and operated by Waterman Steamship Corporation....
and held the captain for ransom at gunpoint. On February 16, 2011, he was sentenced to over 33 years in federal prison in the first trial of a pirate to occur in the United States in decades.
Early life
Muse was born c. 1990 in GaalkacyoGaalkacyo
Galkayo , also known as Galcaio or Galkacyo, is the capital of the north-central Mudug region of Somalia. The city is divided into two zones, where the main northern portion forms part of Puntland state, while its southern tip is governed by the Galmudug administration.Ruled in the early modern...
, in Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
—one of two semi-autonomous states in the north of Somalia. His mother claimed he was born 1992, and his father claimed he was born 1993.
Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
Brendan McGuire informed U.S. District Court Judge Andrew J. Peck at a hearing to determine Muse's age that he had told Americans he was 16, 18, 19, and 26 years old. Colleen Long and Larry Neumeister, writing for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, reported that Wali Muse was only five foot two inches (157 cm) tall. Due to his small stature, American prison officials had not been able to supply him with clothes that fit him.
Attack on the Maersk Alabama
According to his indictment, he was the first of the four men who attacked the Maersk Alabama to board, and during the attack, was stabbed in the hand by a sailor. He was tied up for 12 hours, and offered as an exchange for the Alabama's captain, Richard Phillips. Wali Muse was thought to be the first person to be charged with piracyPiracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
in an American court in more than 100 years, when courts ruled in 1885 that the Ambrose Light
Ambrose Light (ship)
Ambrose Light was a brigantine, captured by the USS Alliance as a suspected pirate vessel in 1885. After a legal decision, the ship was returned to her Colombian owners, in return for costs...
was not a pirate vessel. A more recent case United States v. Shi
United States v. Shi
United States v. Shi is a 21st century case involving piracy on the high seas. The case establishes the right of the United States to try foreign nationals on foreign-flagged vessels for crimes committed on the high seas, outside the territory of the United States.-Incident and Capture of the 'Full...
, which was quoted in his indictment, involves murder and a crew member taking over a ship and holding a hostage.
Additional attacks
In 2010, he was charged in connection with two additional attacks on international shipping.The indictment does not name the two vessels involved, hijacked in April and May 2009, but they are likely to be the FV Win Far 161
FV Win Far 161
Win Far 161 is a Taiwanese fishing vessel captured by Somali pirates 6, April 2009 near the Seychelles. The ship was released on 11 February 2010 after a ransom was paid, and after the ship had been used as a mother ship in the Maersk Alabama hijacking...
.
Trial
He was tried in United States District Court for the Southern District of New YorkUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
According to the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
he is 17 to 19 years old. He was charged, and was to stand trial in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
because of the expertise of the New York FBI office in handling cases where major crimes were perpetrated against Americans in Africa. His mother claims that he was innocent, and 16 years old. CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
reported that U.S. authorities had considered transferring him to Kenyan custody.
CBC News reported on speculation over his age. When initially captured his age was estimated to be between 16 and 20. On April 16, 2009, United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
stated that all four pirates were between 17 and 19. On April 20, 2009, CBC News reported that U.S. officials stated they had confirmed he was over 18. If they believed he was under 18 there would have been "further steps" required to prosecute him.
However, CBC News interviewed his mother, who stated the U.S. had both his name and age wrong. She stated he was only 16 and that his name was Abdi Wali Abdulqadir Muse. His mother, Adar Abdurahman Hassan, also appealed to the U.S. government and President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to free her son, in an interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
service.
According to Ron Kuby
Ron Kuby
Ronald L. Kuby is a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, radio talk show host and TV commentator. He has hosted radio programs on WABC Radio in New York and Air America Radio.-Beginnings:...
, a civil rights lawyer who has considered offering his services to Wali Muse:
However, later analysts pointed out that Mr. Kuby's analysis was incorrect. The principles of truce in warfare on the high seas apply to nations and their official military forces—not to pirates.
In a court ruling on April 21, 2009, U.S. magistrate judge Andrew J. Peck decided Wali Muse was not under 18, and that he could be tried as an adult. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse has been brought to New York to face trial on charges including piracy under the law of nations, conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, and firearms related charges, carrying a potential of up to four life sentences. The charge of piracy has a mandatory life sentence (18 USC 1651 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=piracy%20law%20nations&url=/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001651----000-.html), and there is no parole in U.S. federal prisons.
On May 19, 2009, a federal grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
returned a ten-count indictment against Wali Muse.
He pled guilty to the to hijacking, kidnapping and hostage-taking charges on 18 May 2010. Charges of piracy and possession of a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.
On February 16, 2011 Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months in federal prison. Muse is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Indiana.
External links
- Indictment (U.S. v. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse), 19 May 2009 FindLawFindLawFindLaw is a business of Thomson Reuters that provides online legal information and online marketing services for law firms. FindLaw was created by Stacy Stern, Martin Roscheisen and Tim Stanley in 1995, and was acquired by Thomson West in 2001....
- Criminal Complaint (U.S. v. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse), 21 April 2009 FindLawFindLawFindLaw is a business of Thomson Reuters that provides online legal information and online marketing services for law firms. FindLaw was created by Stacy Stern, Martin Roscheisen and Tim Stanley in 1995, and was acquired by Thomson West in 2001....