Monday 22 November 2010
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The piracy trial of 5 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 in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. The case will then go to jurors, who will also consider plundering, weapons and other counts.
The government says the defendants confessed to attacking the USS Nicholas April 1 after mistaking it for a merchant ship.
But defense attorneys say the men are innocent fishermen who were abducted by pirates and forced to fire their weapons at the ship.
Legal scholars say this is the first piracy prosecution to go to trial in the U.S. since the Civil War.
If convicted of the piracy charge, the five Somali nationals face mandatory life terms.
Source: AP