ID :
185947
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 17:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185947
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Somali pirate sentenced 15 years in prison
(LEAD) (ATTN: RECASTS with prison sentence for pirate)
BUSAN (Yonhap) - A court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali pirate to 15 years in prison for involvement in the hijacking of a South Korean-owned freighter earlier this year.
Abdulahi Husseen Maxamuud was convicted of maritime robbery and hijacking the Samho Jewelry in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 15.
He offered an apology for the hijacking but denied the charges, saying in the Busan District Court that he only cooked. Prosecutors demanded he be sentenced to life in prison.
The Busan District Court issued the ruling on Wednesday.
He was one of five pirates captured during a Jan. 21 commando operation by South Korea's navy to rescue the South Korean chemical carrier, the Samho Jewelry, in the Arabian Sea. Eight other pirates were killed in the operation.
The captured pirates were brought to Busan, the home port of the Samho Jewelry, for trial. The ship's captain was seriously wounded by shots apparently fired by one of the pirates during the raid but the ship's 21 other crew members, eight of them South Korean, were rescued unharmed.
Meanwhile, two of the four Somali pirates convicted last week of maritime robbery and hijacking the South Korean carrier have appealed the court decision, their attorneys said Wednesday.
On Friday, the Busan District Court overseen by a nine-member jury sentenced Mahomed Arai, 21, to life in prison for shooting Seok Hae-kyun, the ship's captain, and seven other charges, including attempted murder and maritime robbery.
"Arai was convicted of shooting Captain Seok although evidence was not enough to prove the charge. And I don't agree to the ruling that he took the crew members as human shields," Kwon Hyuk-keun, defense lawyer for Arai, said. "So I filed an appeal after meeting Arai."
Aul Brallat, the second pirate who appealed, received a 15-year prison sentence for attempting to kill the ship's crew by using them as human shields.
Two other pirates, who were each sentenced to 13 years in prison on similar charges, are also expected to appeal.
Prosecutors said they also will challenge the court ruling because three pirates were cleared of a charge of plotting to kill Seok. The prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Arai and life in prison for the three others.
"Three pirates, except Arai, should have been punished for having conspired to kill Captain Seok. We will have a higher court look into it," a prosecutor official said, adding that they have not yet made a decision on whether to lodge an appeal against the life term for Arai.
BUSAN (Yonhap) - A court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali pirate to 15 years in prison for involvement in the hijacking of a South Korean-owned freighter earlier this year.
Abdulahi Husseen Maxamuud was convicted of maritime robbery and hijacking the Samho Jewelry in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 15.
He offered an apology for the hijacking but denied the charges, saying in the Busan District Court that he only cooked. Prosecutors demanded he be sentenced to life in prison.
The Busan District Court issued the ruling on Wednesday.
He was one of five pirates captured during a Jan. 21 commando operation by South Korea's navy to rescue the South Korean chemical carrier, the Samho Jewelry, in the Arabian Sea. Eight other pirates were killed in the operation.
The captured pirates were brought to Busan, the home port of the Samho Jewelry, for trial. The ship's captain was seriously wounded by shots apparently fired by one of the pirates during the raid but the ship's 21 other crew members, eight of them South Korean, were rescued unharmed.
Meanwhile, two of the four Somali pirates convicted last week of maritime robbery and hijacking the South Korean carrier have appealed the court decision, their attorneys said Wednesday.
On Friday, the Busan District Court overseen by a nine-member jury sentenced Mahomed Arai, 21, to life in prison for shooting Seok Hae-kyun, the ship's captain, and seven other charges, including attempted murder and maritime robbery.
"Arai was convicted of shooting Captain Seok although evidence was not enough to prove the charge. And I don't agree to the ruling that he took the crew members as human shields," Kwon Hyuk-keun, defense lawyer for Arai, said. "So I filed an appeal after meeting Arai."
Aul Brallat, the second pirate who appealed, received a 15-year prison sentence for attempting to kill the ship's crew by using them as human shields.
Two other pirates, who were each sentenced to 13 years in prison on similar charges, are also expected to appeal.
Prosecutors said they also will challenge the court ruling because three pirates were cleared of a charge of plotting to kill Seok. The prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Arai and life in prison for the three others.
"Three pirates, except Arai, should have been punished for having conspired to kill Captain Seok. We will have a higher court look into it," a prosecutor official said, adding that they have not yet made a decision on whether to lodge an appeal against the life term for Arai.
