NORFOLK, Va. — The piracy trial of five Somali men accused of attacking a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Africa is nearing an end in Virginia.
Closing arguments are expected Monday. The case will then go to jurors, who will also consider plundering, weapons and other charges.
Legal scholars say this is the first piracy prosecution to go to trial in the U.S. since the Civil War.
The government says the defendants confessed to attacking the USS Nicholas on April 1 after mistaking it for a merchant ship.
Defense attorneys say the men are innocent fishermen who were abducted by pirates and forced to fire their weapons at the ship.
If convicted of the piracy charge, the five Somali nationals face mandatory life terms.