Friday, April 23, 2010
The suspects were expected to appear in court in Norfolk, Va., for indictment as early as today, two U.S. officials said.
The 11 have been held on U.S. ships for weeks off Somalia’s pirate-infested coast as officials worked to determine whether and where they could be prosecuted
The transfer of the case to a U.S. court comes amid discussions of a special international piracy court because some countries will not take action against suspected pirates who are turned over to them.
The question of piracy prosecutions is part of a broader U.S. policy debate over how to deal with the lawless nation of Somalia, which has become a safe haven for al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Off the Somali coast, millions of dollars in ransom are demanded by young men traveling in skiffs, armed with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades and hopped up on a narcotic plant called qat.
Five of those en route to Virginia yesterday were captured March 31 after the frigate USS Nicholas exchanged fire with pirates off the Seychelles, sinking a skiff and confiscating its mother ship. The other six were captured after they began shooting at the USS Ashland April 10 off Djibouti, at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Another 10 pirates remained at sea in Navy custody yesterday, captured when the destroyer USS McFaul responded to the distress call from a merchant vessel.
Source: AP