Fed judge in NYC closes piracy suspect's hearing

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) — The sole survivor of a pirate attack on an American cargo ship cried in a New York courtroom Tuesday as a dispute erupted over whether he was a juvenile or an adult, an issue that will determine whether his case will be open to the public.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck, over the objection of reporters crowded into a small courtroom, ordered the hearing closed to the public. The hearing will decide whether Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, whose age has been reported to be 15 or 18, is a juvenile or an adult.

Before court officers closed the courtroom to the media, Muse was asked if he understood that two federal defenders were being assigned to his case because he reported having no financial resources. Muse said through an interpreter: "I understand. I don't have any money."

He cried and sobbed audibly when his attorneys mentioned contacting his family in Somalia.

Muse is the sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain.

He arrived in New York on Monday evening, handcuffed with a chain wrapped around his waist and about a dozen federal agents surrounding him.

His left hand is heavily bandaged from the wound he suffered during the skirmish on the cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama. Muse, his 5-foot-2 frame so slight that his prison clothes draped loosely, at one point put his head in his uninjured hand.

U.S. Attorney Brendan McGuire argued that a hearing to determine whether Muse was an adult was unnecessary. He said Muse "should be tried as an adult" because Muse told authorities he was 18 and there was other information to support that statement.

But defense attorney Phil Weinstein said the defense was prepared to put Muse's father on the phone with the court in the closed hearing to verify a statement the father had made that his son was not 18. He said Muse was born on Nov. 20, 1993, which would make him 15.

Peck said federal law was clear that proceedings must be held in secret and court documents cannot be made public if Muse is a juvenile.

Muse arrived in New York on Monday night and smiled as he was led into a government building.

A law enforcement official said Muse (pronounced moo-SAY) was being charged under two obscure federal laws that deal with piracy and hostage-taking. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges had not been announced.

Source: Associated Press, April 21, 2009