Kuby May Represent Teen Somali Pirate, Due in US Court Today
The only Somali pirate who survived the hostage-taking incident involving ship captain Richard Phillips smiled as he was led into a federal building today.
The teen pirate, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, was expected to make a court appearance today to face likely charges of piracy and hostage-taking under two obscure federal laws, the Associated Press reports.
Authorities claim the boy is 18, but his parents say he is only 16. The boy’s mother, Adar Abdirahman Hassan, told the Associated Press that her son was lured into piracy by “gangsters with money.”
New York civil rights lawyer Ronald Kuby may be representing the teen. He told AP he is in talks about forming a legal team to handle the defense.
“I think in this particular case, there’s a grave question as to whether America was in violation of principles of truce in warfare on the high seas,” Kuby told AP. “This man seemed to come onto the Bainbridge under a flag of truce to negotiate. He was then captured. There is a question whether he is lawfully in American custody and serious questions as to whether he can be prosecuted because of his age.”
International law requires prosecutors to take additional steps to try the youth if he is only 16, the story says.
