Two Somali Pirates Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Holding U.S. Journalist Hostage For 3 Years

Two Somali pirates were sentenced to 30 years in prison after holding an American journalist hostage for nearly three years.

The Eastern District of New York sentenced Abdi Yusuf Hassan, 56, and Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, 43, to be convicted of hostage-taking, terrorism, and firearms offenses earlier this year.

Michael Scott Moore, a freelance journalist, was abducted on January 21, 2012, while he was researching Piracy in Somalia.

Armed men surrounded his vehicle near Galkayo, forcibly removed him, and took him to a remote location. Moore was held alongside two Seychellois fishermen who had been kidnapped months earlier.

Moore was later transferred to the hijacked vessel F/V Naham III, where already 28 crew members were held.

The pirates had killed the ship’s captain during the hijacking and kept his body in the ship’s freezer.

Moore was moved to different locations during his 977 days in captivity. He was chained at night, guarded by armed men and was continuously threatened.

The pirates forced him to make proof of life videos demanding ransom and provided him with minimal information about the outside world.

He was finally released in September 2014 after a ransom was paid.

Hassan, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was a Minister of the Interior in Galmudug province at the time. He used his government position to track Moore’s captivity, direct ransom negotiations, and help with the pirates’ operations.

Mohamed, a Somali army officer, acted as the head of the security and weapons specialist for pirates, coordinating Moore’s movements and managing the group’s weapons.

Both men were arrested and brought to the U.S. for trial.

Reference: U.S. Department of Justice