Two More Somali Pirates Sentenced to Life in Prison

Two more Somali pirates were sentenced to life in prison Monday for their roles in a February high seas attack in which four Americans were killed, including Jean and Scott Adam, members of the Marina del Rey-based Del Rey Yacht Club.

Muhidin Salad Omar, 30, and Mahdi Jama Mohamed, age estimated to be 23 to 24, both of Somalia, were sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis in federal court in Norfolk, VA. Both previously had pleaded guilty in May to piracy charges that carry a mandatory life sentence.

“Somali piracy is a scourge on the world stage, and it continues to grow more widespread and more violent,” said Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Armed attacks on the high seas carry a very real threat of death to those taken hostage, a threat that was tragically made evident in this case. That threat remains for hundreds of hostages held hostage in Somalia, and a life sentence sends a strong message to anyone who chooses to engage in piracy against U.S. interests that they will face severe consequences.”

Two other Somali pirates were sentenced to life in prison in August. Two more pirates are expected to be sentenced Tuesday, said Peter Carr, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia. Several other pirates also have previously pleaded guilty and are expected to be sentenced this fall.

The Adams had been members of the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey since 2001 and the yacht club served as their stateside mail drop since they departed in 2004 on a worldwide voyage aboard the S/V Quest that included the distribution of Bibles.

Omar admitted that he was approached to join the piracy operation because they needed a driver for the skiff, according to court documents. Mohamed admitted requesting to join the pirates before they left Somalia looking for a vessel to hijack. Mohamed also admitted holding a rifle while on guard duty with the hostages aboard the Quest.

U.S. warships overtook the pirates after they hijacked the Quest and their leader, Mohamud Salad Ali, and Omar boarded the USS Sterett. They were told aboard the warship that the U.S. government does not pay ransoms, but the pirates could keep the 58-foot yacht, if they sent the hostages over on the skiff.

The conspirators refused to release the hostages because they believed they would get little money for the yacht, court documents said. As negotiations broke down, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the USS Sterett as a warning shot and at the same time three pirates started opening fire on the hostages.

Three alleged pirates – Ahmed Muse Salad, aka “Afmagalo,” 25; Abukar Osman Beyle, 20; and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 29 – have been charged in a 26-count superseding indictment with the kidnapping, hostage-taking and murder of the Adam couple and Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, a Seattle couple aboard the Quest. Twenty-two of the 26 counts againt the three men are death-eligible offenses.

In total, 19 pirates participated in the open seas hijacking of the Quest. Fifteen were taken into custody, while two were killed by U.S. special forces who boarded the yacht and two were found dead. One pirate has not been charged because he was a juvenile. A piracy conspirator, Mohammad Saaili Shibin, was accused of serving as a ransom negotiator in Somalia and was arrested there and brought to the United States to face charges.

The investigation of the case is being conducted by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Jean and Scott Adam, who were parishioners at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, departed for their worldwide voyage in 2004. A funeral service was held for them in March at St. Monica, where Jean used to sing in the church choir. The St. Monica Music Ministry in March also released a collection of music in their memory, with proceeds going to the Community Center Music Ministry Suite that will be built on the church's new campus.