NEW YORK, April 21, 2009 (AFP) - New York attorney general Lev Dassin said Tuesday the charge of piracy brought against a young Somali captured during a high seas drama carries a mandatory term of life imprisonment.
Abdi Wali Abdi Khadir Muse has been charged with five counts after Somali pirates swarmed a US merchant ship off the coast of Somalia earlier this month.
A statement from Dassin said Muse has been charged with piracy under the law of nations, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
He is further charged with conspiracy to seize a ship by force; discharging a firearm during the conspiracy; conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and brandishing a firearm to aid and abet a hostage-taking.
The final three charges all carry maximum life imprisonment sentences, while conspiracy to seize a ship by force carries a maximum of 20 years, Dassin said in his statement.
Muse was captured by US forces after Navy SEAL snipers shot dead three other bandits and freed the captain of the Maersk Alabama, Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage for five days.
