Teenage Somali Pirate Reaps Whirlwind in U.S. Court

A teenage Somali pirate who surrendered to the U.S. Navy before snipers took out three of his comrades holding a U.S. merchant captain hostage, reaped the whirlwind in a U.S. court in New York City, May 19. He was indicted on multiple criminal charges.

The charges against Muse are extensive --- piracy, conspiracy, hostage-taking and brandishing a firearm on the high seas. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Muse has been jailed in Manhattan since he was captured on April 12 and flown to the U.S. to face what's believed to be the first U.S. piracy prosecution in more than a century.

U.S. prosecutors have branded Muse, 18, the ringleader of a band of four pirates who provoked the deadly drama, while defense attorneys have insisted he's a bewildered teenager snatched from obscurity. He wept last month when his lawyers failed to convince a judge he was only 15 and should be tried as a juvenile.

Muse grew up destitute in Somalia, the oldest of 12 children and the product of a violent, lawless nation where piracy has flourished. His background didn't engender any sympathy on the part of prosecutors, however. They argued that on April 8, he teamed up with other young bandits who targeted the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, which is managed by Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line Ltd., as it transported humanitarian supplies about 280 miles off the Somali coast.

An FBI criminal complaint said Muse was the first to board the boat, firing his AK-47 assault rifle at the captain, Richard Phillips. He entered the bridge, told the captain to stop the ship and "conducted himself as the leader of the pirates," according to the complaint.

The ordeal ended after snipers from one of three U.S. Navy warships shadowing the lifeboat in which the pirates were holding Phillips, got the go-ahead to shoot the captors after one held an AK-47 close to Phillips' back.