Via ABC News -
The Somali pirate captured during the rescue of a U.S. cargo ship captain held hostage in the Indian Ocean is expected to stand trial in federal court in New York, according to senior administration officials familiar with the investigation.
hat pirate went aboard a U.S. Navy vessel before Navy SEAL snipers shot and killed his three alleged cohorts who had been holding Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama hostage for approximately five days in a covered lifeboat.
According to U.S. officials, the plan to bring the alleged pirate -- identified by the Associated Press as Abduhl Wal-i-Musi -- to trial in Manhattan was in the works simultaneously with the resolution of the crisis Sunday.
During the hostage standoff, FBI agents from New York were assigned to investigate the pirate attack on the Maersk Alabama and the abduction of its captain, and will now continue to develop a case for trial.
According to senior officials, the suspect is expected to arrive in New York early next week -- perhaps Monday or Tuesday, where he will be charged and prosecuted.
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This is quite a surprise to me. While the crimes carry a life sentence here in America, I assume we would give the captured pirate to Kenya - which has an agreement with us to prosecute these piracy criminals. Even tho, I assume he would get a much smaller prison sentence in Kenya...
It will be interesting to see how this plays out...and what it will mean for pirates captured by our military in the future. The French have been prosecuting and imprisoning captured pirates for some time...so at least we have a model to follow.
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