Two Somali pirates have been sentenced to 30 years in jail for kidnapping American journalist Michael Scott Moore and holding him hostage for 977 days, federal prosecutors mentioned Tuesday.
Moore, a contract journalist, traveled to Somalia in 2012 to analysis piracy and the nation’s economic system. On January 21, he was kidnapped by a number of closely armed males and transported him to a secluded space, the place he was held captive together with two fishermen from the Seychelles. Moore was moved a number of instances over the course of three months, then transported to a hijacked boat, the F/V Naham III. Moore and one of many fishermen had been held captive there, together with 28 crew members, for a number of extra months, in accordance with the Division of Justice. The fisherman was tortured, and the crew members advised Moore that the pirates had killed the ship’s captain after they hijacked the vessel, prosecutors mentioned.
Moore remained a hostage for an additional two years, repeatedly shuffled between safehouses, saved underneath armed guard and chained at evening to forestall escape, prosecutors mentioned. He was repeatedly threatened, in accordance with the Division of Justice, and compelled to make proof-of-life movies requesting giant ransom funds. In 2014, negotiators paid a ransom of $1.6 million to safe Moore’s launch. Moore has mentioned his household funded the ransom fee, and printed a e book about his expertise in 2018.
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Abdi Yusef Hassan, 56, and Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, 43, every “performed important roles in Moore’s captivity,” in accordance with the Division of Justice, and had been handed 30-year jail sentences.
Hassan, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, served because the minister of the inside within the Somalian province the place Moore was captured. That meant he was in control of police and safety forces, however he additionally “served as an total chief of the pirates,” in accordance with the Division of Justice. He “headed their efforts to extort a large ransom from Moore’s ageing mom,” the division mentioned, and directed the manufacturing of the proof-of-life movies and took part in ransom negotiations. He additionally used his residence as a base of operations for the pirates, the Division of Justice mentioned. He was arrested in Minneapolis in 2019.
Tahlil, additionally of Mogadishu, served within the nation’s military and was a supervisor of the pirates who guarded Moore throughout the early months of his time in captivity. He used his army place, coaching and expertise “to function the pirates’ head of safety and armorer,” in accordance with the Division of Justice, and was in control of transferring Moore from location to location. He additionally offered and repaired weapons used to maintain Moore in captivity. Tahlil was jailed in New York Metropolis in 2018.
Each males had been convicted of hostage taking, terrorism and firearms offenses after a three-week trial in February 2023. They had been sentenced on Tuesday. The Division of Justice didn’t present particulars about the place they may serve their sentences.
Every had been additionally sentenced to someday of supervised launch, along with the jail time period.