Five Somali men convicted in first U.S. piracy case in 200 years

Five Somali men convicted in first U.S. piracy case in 200 years

2010-11-25 04:05:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) -- Five Somali nationals on Wednesday were convicted in a federal court in Virginia on piracy and other criminal charges, prosecutors said.

On April 1, the men launched an attack in the Indian Ocean against USS Nicholas, U.S. Navy ship based in Norfold, Virginia. The case marks the first guilty verdict piracy case in the U.S. in almost 200 years.

The pirates approached the USS Nicholas in a small skiff and opened fire, but the heavily armed Navy ship chased them and a mother ship down, apprehending the men.

The men were found guilty on 14 different counts after the deliberation of around 10 hours by the jury. They are now facing mandatory sentences of life in prison.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships, taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom.

International agencies have ships patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but anti-piracy forces have warned that attacks are likely to increase now that the regional monsoon season has ended.

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