NORFOLK, Va. — Five Somali men were convicted of piracy Wednesday for the 2010 attack on the USS Ashland off the coast of Africa.
A sixth man who claimed to be the group’s leader had already pleaded guilty to lesser charges and testified that they thought they were attacking a merchant ship when one of his crew members fired an AK-47 at the Ashland.
Prosecutors said the men intended to board the ship and hold it for ransom. But before that could happen, the Virginia-based amphibious dock landing ship returned fire with a 25mm cannon, killing one man and setting the pirates’ skiff on fire.
Jama Idle Ibrahim, the self-proclaimed leader of the pirate crew, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in hopes of getting his 30-year sentence eventually reduced.
Each of the other men convicted of piracy faces a mandatory life sentence plus additional time for other related charges.
A federal judge had dismissed the piracy charges because the men never boarded or robbed the ship. But a federal appeals court reversed that decision, sending the case back to trial.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/28/2013