Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Federal trial begins in Va. for Somali man accused of being a high-ranking pirate negotiator

update on
Mohammad Saaili Shibin Inside Somalia. US seizes man in Somalia, says he was pirates' negotiator in fatal hijackingNORFOLK, Va. — The attorney for a Somali man accused of piracy told jurors at trial Wednesday that his client never agreed to negotiate the release of four Americans killed aboard a sailing yacht and he was merely acting as a mediator aboard a hijacked German vessel where hostages were tortured by pirates.
Mohammad Saaili Shibin faces piracy, hostage-taking and several other federal charges for his alleged role in the hijacking of a German merchant ship in 2010 as well as that of an American yacht off Africa in 2011.
Prosecutors say Shibin was part of a network of upper echelon pirates connected to wealthy financiers who didn’t go out with raiding parties seeking ships to hijack. Instead, they say, he was called in to begin negotiations once a ship had been seized and was in Somali waters.
Federal prosecutors said Shibin researched the captured ships and hostages online to determine the size of a ransom to seek and find contact information for a ship’s owner and hostages’ relatives. The prosecutors say Shibin is considered the highest-ranking pirate the U.S. has captured and brought to trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Hatch said in opening statements that Shibin was able to secure a $5 million ransom for the German ship Marida Marguerite and its 22 member multi-national crew. He also said he was the person identified by other pirates as responsible for negotiating the release of the Americans onboard the sailing vessel Quest — though negotiations didn’t ensue because one of the pirates mistakenly broke the ship’s satellite phone out at sea. In that case, 11 men who boarded the boat pleaded guilty to piracy and have been sentenced to life in prison. Three others charged with murder are awaiting trial.
The owners of the Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., and friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were the first U.S. citizens killed in pirate attacks plaguing the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean despite regular international patrols by warships. They had been sailing around the world when their ship was boarded by 19 men about 900 miles from Somalia. Their boarded yacht was eventually spotted by a plane and the USS Enterprise Strike Group then shadowed the Quest for days amid efforts to secure the Americans’ release.
Hatch said the destroyer USS Sterett was attempting to maneuver between the hijacked yacht and the Somali coast when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at it, and gunfire onboard the yacht was heard shortly after. By the time Navy SEALs reached the Quest, all four Americans had been shot, Hatch said.
Shibin’s court-appointed attorney, James Broccoletti told jurors during opening arguments that the Americans’ yacht never should have been hijacked and what happened to the Americans was terrible. But in the case of the Quest, he noted that Shibin never left Somalia. That’s important because he contends that unless Shibin committed robbery at sea, he can’t be convicted of piracy. Prosecutors contend piracy as defined by ‘the law of nations’ involves a broader definition.
If convicted of piracy involving either ship, Shibin faces a mandatory life sentence.
Broccoletti said the multiple conspiracy charges against Shibin don’t apply because although Shibin had been contacted about serving as the Americans’ hostage negotiator, he didn’t agree to do it.
In the case of the German ship, Broccoletti said that Shibin had been trying to work as a freelance journalist covering piracy after he had been laid off from an oil company as a translator and dispatcher. He speaks English, Somali, Italian and Arabic. He said Shibin had been contacted about helping the hostages because of his skills and knowledge. Once onboard, he said Shibin was unable to leave the ship and was treated just as poorly as some of the hostages at times. He said Shibin made a mistake when he accepted $30,000 for his time on board the ship following the release of the hostages.
During testimony Wednesday, Ukranian crewmember Oleg Dereglazov of the captured German ship said Shibin behaved like a pirate leader, ate heavily while on board and got the first choice of a leafy drug, khat, that pirates chewed daily during the eight-month ordeal.
Dereglazov also said he was tortured several times, including being suspended from a meat hook in the ship’s freezer. A photo showed to jurors also showed scars on Dereglazov’s arms from when his feet and hands were tied together for six hours. Dereglazov said he was tortured because Shibin and the other pirates demanded he tell them were extra fuel reserves were stored aboard, although he said there were no added stocks. He said he was also tortured to desalinate water for other pirate ships. VIA The Washington Post
Rahm in  Virginia

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

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Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
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MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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