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NEW YORK, May 21, 2009 — A Somali teenager accused of leading a pirate
attack on an American cargo ship off the coast of Africa pleaded not
guilty Thursday to piracy charges.
A somber-looking Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse entered the plea in a soft
voice with his head down during a brief appearance in U.S. District
Court in Manhattan.
Afterward, his lawyers said Muse has been kept in solitary confinement
since being captured in his impoverished nation and brought to the
United States last month — a predicament that's left him scared and
confused. They continued to deny the U.S. government's claim that their
client is 18.
"He's a boy who fishes and now he's ended up in solitary confinement,"
said one of the lawyers, Deirdre von Dornum. "It's truly terrifying."
Muse's age has been in dispute since his arrest. His family has said he
is as young as 15, but a magistrate judge concluded he could be tried as
an adult since there was evidence that he is 18.
Authorities say Muse was the only surviving pirate among a group that
attacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama on April 8. He was captured
April 12 as U.S. military snipers fired on a group holding the cargo
vessel's captain hostage. The captain, Richard Phillips, has since
returned to his home in Underhill, Vt., to a hero's welcome.
Muse was indicted earlier this week on 10 counts including piracy under
the law of nations, conspiracy, hostage taking, kidnapping and
possession of a machine gun while seizing a ship by force. If convicted
of the most serious charge, he faces a mandatory life sentence.
When the Maersk Alabama was attacked, it was carrying humanitarian
supplies about 280 miles off the Somali coast. U.S. authorities say Muse
led the attack on the ship, firing his AK-47 assault rifle at Phillips.
Authorities say Phillips, held hostage for several days on a lifeboat,
had an AK-47 held near his back when the snipers killed three pirates as
the small vessel bobbed in the water near three U.S. warships and
beneath a helicopter.
Muse was ordered to return to court on Sept. 17.
Source: AP, May 21, 2009
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