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Defense attorneys for Somalis take aim at 1819 pirate law
The Virginian-Pilot ^ | 5 Jul 10 | Tim McGlone

Posted on 07/05/2010 1:25:07 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY

NORFOLK

Defense attorneys for a group of suspected Somali pirates are challenging the very heart of the government's case, arguing that in the history of the United States there has never been a piracy case that did not involve plundering or stealing a vessel.

For that reason, the attorneys argue, the piracy case should be thrown out of court.

In their most recent court filing, the attorneys argue that the 200-year-old piracy statute has never been updated and is not applicable to modern-day pirate suspects.

Under that law, they say, Greenpeace activists who forcibly prevent a whaling ship from conducting its mission could be considered pirates. The filing is the latest in a string of challenges to one of two piracy cases pending here in federal court.

In a flurry of motions filed over the past several weeks, defense attorneys have provided new details that they say raise more doubts about the intent of one group of six Somali nationals charged in the case.

It was also revealed publicly for the first time that in the April 10 attack on the Ashland - a Little Creek-based amphibious dock landing ship - a seventh man was present and was killed when sailors returned fire, blowing up the small skiff. The Navy never acknowledged a death during the attack.

That man was the only one with a firearm, the defense attorneys say, making the other suspects less culpable. And with him dead, the real reason he opened fire may never be known.

In a move to throw out the most serious charge - piracy, which carries a mandatory life prison term - the lawyers in the Ashland attack case argue that the legal definition of piracy requires that there be a robbery or seizure of a ship.

"Tellingly, the government cites not one example in the history of American jurisprudence of a criminal prosecution for piracy that did not involve the seizure of a ship," Keith Kimball, an assistant federal public defender, wrote to the court on behalf of the six suspected pirate s. (Each defendant has his own lawyer as well.)

"It cites to none because there are none," he said in the filing.

But the government contends that the Piracy Act of 1819, on which the case hinges, historically has included different types of violent acts committed on the high seas. Government prosecutors urged the court not to consider piracy as it existed 200 years ago and to rely on modern-day common law and international treaties.

The Ashland was fired upon just before dawn on April 10 while on patrol in the Gulf of Aden, about 330 nautical miles off Djibouti. The Ashland fired back, causing an explosion that destroyed the skiff.

After jumping into the ocean, the six surviving Somalis, two seriously injured, were taken into custody and brought to Norfolk U.S. District Court to face piracy and other charges. Part of one man's leg was amputated as a result of his injuries.

The case is set for trial Oct. 19.

In one recent court filing, the Somalis provided their first hint of an alibi.

They "repeatedly told investigators that they had helped transport Somali refugees to Yemen and then had been stranded at sea on a small boat without fuel or supplies for several days before firing their single weapon in an act of desperation in order to attract the attention of the USS Ashland," Kimball wrote.

Kimball added that all six provided statements to the FBI and Navy investigators asserting their innocence. They told the agents they were lost at sea for five days.

The government says in one filing that the "description of the defendants' statements" is inaccurate but does not provide more detail.

Five other Somalis are charged in a March 31 attack on the Nicholas, a Norfolk-based frigate that had been patrolling the waters off Somalia. Like the others, the indictment says those five, armed with assault rifles, attacked the Nicholas that night, believing in the darkness that it was a merchant vessel.

That trial is set for Sept. 9, but the attorneys have yet to file any pretrial motions. They have until July 13 to do so.

All 11 defendants remain in jail without bond.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: pirates; somalia; usn
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To: Tamar1973
Yep they are, and there are some Greenpeace pirates in Japan currently on trial for that.

I think you are referring to Pete Bethune, of the Sea Shepherds. He has already pled guilty to three charges for boarding a Japanese whaling ship. Paul Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherds, was an early member of Greenpeace but was ejected from the organization. In fact, Greenpeace doesn't want to be seen near the Sea Shepherds at all.

41 posted on 07/05/2010 6:54:32 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
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To: GATOR NAVY

Exactly. Kill them at sea and leave the bodies for the fish.


42 posted on 07/05/2010 9:26:52 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The US will not die with a whimper. It will die with thundering applause from the left.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

As for Jefferson and the Barbary pirates, the slogan “millions for defense but not one cent for tribute” was from the XYZ affair in the Adams administration when the French foreign minister Tallyrand demanded payments both to France and bribes to him personally in order to see US envoys. This was considered an insult and almost lead to war.

The Barbary pirates extracted tribute from various countries to not attack their ships. They were increasing their demands of the US which was considered far away and weak. This lead Jefferson to make war on them.

These Somali pirates seem to fit the definition of pirates from the early 19th century. Greenpeace could also be considered pirates, but it is more not as clear cut.


43 posted on 07/05/2010 9:51:16 PM PDT by xxqqzz
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To: JimRed

To the Japanese, whales are FOOD!


44 posted on 07/06/2010 1:27:14 AM PDT by SatinDoll
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To: SunkenCiv; AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; blueyon; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; ...
Again, I must take issue with the use of the term "pirates," in describing members of the Somali Complete Utilization of Marine Balance Action Grounded in Science, sea scout groups.

The SCUMBAGS, as they are affectionately known in maritime circles, are merely trying to protect their home waters from over fishing and environmental contamination, as were our Navy boys who pulled the SCUMBAGS from the waters off their homeland.

45 posted on 07/06/2010 5:44:04 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Time for Regime Change in America)
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To: bert
Greenpeace sailors are pirates.

Greenpeace is a terrorist group

Actually, Greenpeace doesn't do squat. They take pictures of the whales getting harpooned but don't take action, they just complain like children.

The Whale Wars bunch take action by throwing rotten butter on the ships but it doesn't end there. I have no idea what they did before they started filming whale wars but this is what they've done since they started whale wars.

1. Send two hippies to board a whale ship so they could be held hostage and the fat slob could call the media.

2. Ram the Japanese vessel in a shitty ship that isn't even protected against ice.

3. Fat slob Captain gets shot by the Japanese (I don't know if it is real or fake although I wouldn't blame the Japs for shooting him, I'd mistake him for a whale too.)

4. Send 4 women on a "boarding" mission because the fat slob thinks having women as hostages is a good idea, and in the process one woman nearly breaks her hip.

5. Buy a super expensive bat man boat and have it get run over and destroyed by a Japanese Harpoon Ship.

6. Finally, go on Larry King and try to pretend that it's all about the whales but admit that you are actually getting paid to do all of this.

Yeah so for me, Greenpeace are actually the good guys in this battle.

And if anyone is wondering what the wonderful prize of humanity is up to now? They are protecting Tuna Fish in the Mediterranean Sea.

I'm betting they have another show, "TUNA WARS!" They are actually getting shot at this time though, someone shot flares at them, unfortunately none landed...

46 posted on 07/06/2010 7:12:59 AM PDT by Dengar01 (Go Blackhawks!!! and Go White Sox!!!)
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To: VaRepublican; Pan_Yan
Ok, I have decided to take my abuse, I have never watched the show so I really don't know what I think about this bunch. I do however wonder why we as humans are killing the largest mammal on earth. That's it, that's all I have to say.

I think many of us on the Whale Wars Ping List are against whaling. I am personally because I don't see the point in killing whales in the 21st Century and lying about it and saying you are doing "research".

Personally, I think the Japanese are disgusting, however the Whale Wars bunch are hippies who want to be on TV.

Pan_Yan refers to Whale Wars as "Hippies Failing Badly" and nothing could be more accurate. These are vegan morons who think they are sailors because they suddenly are on a boat.

The fat slob in charge of the operation (Paul Watson) puts his crew in danger in every encounter and even in pursuit. I'm guessing he does it for ratings but he always goes and complains to the media like a cry baby.

I think that Paul Watson and his band of liberal scum are hurting anti-whaling thought by their actions.

I think if you did a poll of FReepers 9 out of 10 of us would say we are against whaling in 2010. However, that doesn't mean we should go out, put our lives and their lives in danger to stop them, simply for ratings.

I don't know why everyone else on the Whale Wars Ping list watches the show. I watch simply out of amazement of how dumb liberals are. In the first episode in Season 1, the stupid cook says, "I cook three square vegan meals a day!"

Here is a question, how is Paul Watson so fat from eating vegetables???

47 posted on 07/06/2010 7:20:20 AM PDT by Dengar01 (Go Blackhawks!!! and Go White Sox!!!)
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To: Dengar01
I think if you did a poll of FReepers 9 out of 10 of us would say we are against whaling in 2010

9 of 10 would be OK with whaling and eating whale meat.

48 posted on 07/06/2010 7:46:04 AM PDT by Balding_Eagle (Women are natural socialists, since the 19th passed the US has been drifting Liberal)
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Don’t know if it’s Greenpeace or some Whale group, but whomever has been boarding Japanese whalers should be charged with piracy. Also, those lobbing rancid butter [which can damage the eyes] should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

RE the Somalian pirates, their case seems to be that because they are failed pirates, they should be let off the hook?

Think it’s time for letters of Marque.

Of course, there isn’t much to salvage from a seized pirate vessel, but perhaps a bounty upon receipt of videotape documentation of the piracy attempt. Along, with documentation of the Marque ship scuttling the pirate ships with all hands. Shippers could proportionally fund the account based on some combination of cargo value/weight and ship replacement value. Create an international corporation to oversee management and disbursement of awards. Interested parties would have their vessel [maybe offer a special loan program for maritime entrepreneurs] and crew approved by the company and dues paying members. The vessels and their crews would be it’s own corporate entity- thereby ring-fencing the disbursement company from liability. Would be cheaper than the individual ransoms and likely remove large numbers of likely pirates from the area. Paying pirates or mercenaries still boils down to a protection racket, but somehow the latter seems more appealing. Maybe stipulate that all crews to be drawn from ranks of honorably discharge ex-navy, seal, coastie, marine, etc, etc. [even from other countries. The Russians seem singularly determined folks]

It would help unemployment, keep fit men [and women] doing something they love and help local economies when they pull into port by promoting sales of condoms and service oriented small businesses, lol.

As Chevy Chase said in Nation Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, ‘Fixed the newel post!!’


49 posted on 07/06/2010 8:08:15 AM PDT by FreeStateYank (I want my country and constitution back, now!)
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To: Balding_Eagle
9 of 10 would be OK with whaling and eating whale meat.

From reading posts over the years on these whale threads most FReepers are against whaling (atleast those who post). I know it sounds "manly" to say "go eat whale meat", I'd guess you never have and probably never would.

I don't care if the Minke whales are not extinct or endangered but I personally am against whaling in the 21st Century. However, I am completely against the losers in Sea Shepherd and their POS "Captain" Lard Ass!

Now because I personally don't like killing whales does that mean I'm going to go out in Antarctica and act like a two year old??? No. Like I said these hippie bums are hurting anti whaling more than anything, but their egos are more important than anything.

If Paul Watson truly was so compassionate for whales he wouldn't be on salary and still act "holier than thou".

I would venture that most of the hippies are just brain washed marin county libs, who are mentally ill!

The real criminal is Paul Watson. The guy is an eco terrorist and believes that animals have more rights than humans. I watched on some channel a documentary of this guy, it is truly frightening what this guy believes.

He is the epitome of Karl Marx he is anti God, anti human and completely deranged however he has a following of lemmings who think he is wonderful.

Watch the first season of "Whale Wars" and you'll see that he is a media whore, he even admits using the media to his advantage, that is right out of the playbook of Goebells!!!

At the end of the day these eco freaks are facists at the core. They'd make Himmler proud.

50 posted on 07/06/2010 8:09:54 AM PDT by Dengar01 (Go Blackhawks!!! and Go White Sox!!!)
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To: Pan_Yan
Are the Sea Shepherd pirates?

Sea Shepherd is an embarrassment to pirates. The real pirates from the 17th and 18th Century are spinning in their graves to know that hippie losers are running around claiming to be pirates because they can throw rotten butter and ram into ships like retards.

Paul Watson is not a pirate he is a deranged Marxist who should be imprisoned for putting people's lives in danger. Anyone who says "I'd lay my life down for a whale" should be put in a straight jacket.

I love wild life, I live in the woods, would I die for a raccoon??? These people are completely insane.

And Paul Watson knows this and he takes advantage of gullible vegan losers who think they are part of the SDS in 1968.

There is law against commercial whaling, there should be a law against Paul Watson and his moronic crew. Someone is going to get killed, mark my words.

The Japanese are not going to give up whaling because the hippies want them to.

They used an LRAD on a helicopter (An acoustic weapon that could cause the helicopter to crash into the water). So the Japs are stepping up their defenses. But that doesn't matter to Paul Watson, now they are on Tuna Patrol in the Mediterranean. Luckily, they got flares shot at them http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100619-1.html.

I don't wanna see the bums sunk simply because they are quite entertaining and there isn't a lot on TV in the summer. But Paul Watson will get someone killed, and the sick thing is I think that is exactly what he wants to happen. So Sea Shepherd can have a "martyr" like Saint Pancake (Rachel Corrie the lib who got bulldozed in the West Bank).

I think Sea Shepherd is based in California but thanks to Jerry Brown's father you aren't allowed to put these bums in mental hospitals where they belong!!!

51 posted on 07/06/2010 8:19:51 AM PDT by Dengar01 (Go Blackhawks!!! and Go White Sox!!!)
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To: Dengar01

I’ve never eaten whale meat, have no desire to, but I think most freepers are OK with the whaling. A poll would confirm that.

I watch WW often, I enjoy see a bunch of amateurs going against the pros, they look silly at best, usually they look mean spirited, and very often they look and act like small time inept bullies.

As I see it, their show has been good for the Japanese as they show the roots of anti-whaling, Marxism control of others.


52 posted on 07/06/2010 9:07:01 AM PDT by Balding_Eagle (Women are natural socialists, since the 19th passed the US has been drifting Liberal)
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To: Kenny Bunk

LOL!


53 posted on 07/06/2010 9:30:59 AM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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To: Reily
Whale oil is still used today because it has certain unique physical properties. For example, they use it in the Hubble Space Telescope because it is very resistant to freezing. See here for more info: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/whale-oil-as-space-lubricant.php.
54 posted on 07/06/2010 9:37:31 AM PDT by Jagermonster (They will not force us. They will stop degrading us. They will not control us. We will be victorious)
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To: TMA62
Under that law, they say, Greenpeace activists who forcibly prevent a whaling ship from conducting its mission could be considered pirates.

Exactly.

55 posted on 07/06/2010 11:25:50 AM PDT by VRWCmember
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To: VaRepublican
I do however wonder why we as humans are killing the largest mammal on earth. That's it, that's all I have to say.

I don't think "we as humas are killing the largest mammal on earth". I think some parties (primarily Chinese) still engage in whaling becuase the products from it generate more profit than any alternatives or substitutes. And the Chinese government is not motivated to put an end to the practice because it must benefit the Chinese economy.

56 posted on 07/06/2010 11:29:48 AM PDT by VRWCmember
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To: VaRepublican

“...I do however wonder why we as humans are killing the largest mammal on earth...”
-
I guess because “size matters”.
I don’t really spend much time worrying about whales.
How would my life change if there were no more?
Do you feel this way about buffalo?
Them’s good eating.


57 posted on 07/06/2010 11:41:37 AM PDT by Repeal The 17th (If November does not turn out well, then beware of December.)
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To: Jagermonster

Ok I wasn’t sure if a subsitute had been found yet.


58 posted on 07/06/2010 1:32:55 PM PDT by Reily
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To: Jagermonster

Ok I wasn’t sure if a subsitute had been found yet.


59 posted on 07/06/2010 1:33:02 PM PDT by Reily
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To: Dengar01
The fat slob in charge of the operation (Paul Watson) puts his crew in danger in every encounter and even in pursuit. I'm guessing he does it for ratings but he always goes and complains to the media like a cry baby.

I always laugh when I see the ads for the show where Watson says "I ask these people if they are willing to die for the whales. It's not a hypothetical question" (or something to that affect).

Yeah it's not a hypothetical question because the guy is such an idiot it's only sheer luck he hasn't killed one of the crew yet.

60 posted on 07/06/2010 1:36:19 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY ("The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -Dennis Prager)
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