Somali pirate gets 33 years in attack

Somali pirate Abduwali Abukhadir Muse was sentenced to more than 33 years in prison Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan for attacking the Maersk Alabama and two other ships in 2009, as the judge blasted his mistreatment of sailors.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska choked up with tears, removing her glasses and dabbing at her eyes several times with tissues as she read letters from crew members and their families describing the smirking viciousness of the pirates and its traumatic aftereffects.

As Muse, in a green shirt and khaki pants, watched impassively and listened to an interpreter through a set of headphones, Preska recited evidence of mistreatment - from threats to kill hostages and cut them up for organ sale to beatings and Russian roulette.

"The extreme level of violence and sadism which Mr. Muse and his men employed . . . abdicated all pretense of humane treatment of their captives," the judge said.

Muse was accused of leading a crew of pirates that seized a yacht, a Taiwanese fishing vessel and the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean in April 2009. The gang kidnapped Capt. Richard Phillips and held him for four days before Navy snipers killed three pirates and rescued him.

Preska's sentence was at the high end of a range between 27 years and just more than 33 years that was agreed on when Muse pleaded guilty last year in return for prosecutors dropping a charge of piracy, which carries a mandatory life sentence.

Muse's age has been in dispute since his arrest. He claimed he was 15 when the incident occurred, but the government said he was an adult, 18 or 19. He will be in his late 40s or 50s when he is released.

In his statement to the judge, Muse said he had been recruited into piracy by more sophisticated operatives in Somalia, and asked forgiveness for what he had done.

"I got my hands into something that was more powerful than me and I have been sorry for what happened for two years," Muse said.

Muse's defense attorneys revealed he has tried to commit suicide in prison several times, and urged Preska to be lenient because of his age, his mental health problems, and the extreme deprivation and lawlessness he grew up with in Somalia.

"What is the increased value of the extra seven years the government is seeking?" asked his attorney, Fiona Doherty. "A sentence of 27 years is sufficient to punish and deter our client. No more time is necessary."

Preska read letters from Phillips- who referenced a popular Disney pirate movie with the line "These are not Johnny Depps"- and from crew member John Cronan, his wife and his children.

The judge's voice grew husky as Cronan's wife described her husband's inability to return to work and her 9-year-old child's terror: "Our youngest daughter still has nightmares and has expressed fear that Mr. Muse will somehow escape from prison and come searching for her."

Colin Wright, 44, of Galveston, Texas, the only crew member to appear in person, told Muse he'd get better nutrition and better mental health care by staying longer in a United States prison than if he returned to Somalia. Muse did not look at him.

"What happened to us was terrible," Wright told the judge. "I'm not the same person I was and I never will be."