Somali pirate faces 25-year prison sentence

Somali national Jama Idle Ibrahim, a/k/a Jaamac Ciidle, pled guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit piracy under the law of nations and conspiracy to use a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The charges stem from a violent act of piracy in the Gulf of Aden against a merchant vessel, the MV/CEC Future, that began in November 2008.According to a government report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police's Terrorism Committee, the 38-year old Ibrahim entered the guilty plea before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the piracy conspiracy count and 20 years for the firearm conspiracy count. According to the plea agreement, the parties agree that a 25-year sentence is appropriate. No date was set for the sentencing, which will occur before the Judge Paul L. Friedman.
This represents the first plea for a piracy related offense in the District of Columbia.The act of piracy against the MV/CEC Future began on or about November 7, 2008. According to a statement of facts presented to the court, Ibrahim and other Somalis were armed with AK 47s, rocket-propelled grenades and handguns when they seized the Danish-owned vessel, which contained cargo belonging to a Texas-based company, McDermott International, Inc. The marauders held the vessel, cargo, and crew members for ransom and forced the crew to anchor in waters off the Somalia coast. During the takeover, additional pirates and their associates boarded the vessel, and the pirates threatened the crew and controlled their movements with their weapons. The pirates stole money, food, and supplies from the ship.The vessel’s owners paid a sum of money for the release of the ship and its crew on January 14, 2009, and the last Somali pirate left the ship on January 16, 2009 -- 71 days after the vessel and crew were seized.
“Violent acts of piracy on the high seas disrupt international trade and put human life at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen. “These charges should serve as an unmistakable warning to others thinking of launching pirate attacks. Crimes on open waters in faraway oceans will be punished in an American courtroom.”“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the FBI’s commitment, with our partners, to protect U.S. trade interests overseas and bring to justice those who wish to harm our companies transacting business via international waters,” said Assistant Director Shawn Henry.The defendant also pled guilty, on August 27, 2010, in the Eastern District of Virginia to charges stemming from another crime on the high seas. In that case, he pled guilty to attacking to plunder a vessel, engaging in an act of violence against persons on a vessel, and using a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges stemmed from an April 10, 2010 incident in which Ibrahim and five other Somalis fired upon the USS Ashland, a United States Navy vessel, in the mistaken belief that it was a merchant ship. Jim Kouri