A jury in Norfolk, Virginia, found five Somali men of piracy, the first conviction for the crime in the United States in almost 200 years guilty.
The ruling is a victory for the efforts of the United States to combat piracy in the courtroom, complying with only months one judge from piracy charges in a similar case in Norfolk threw this summer.
But the result is unlikely to cause antipiracy efforts to change given the case's unique nature and the high costs of imprisonment sentenced pirates.
The five men were found guilty of piracy and multiple lower fees after the USS Nicholas, a marine vessel in the Indian Ocean close to Seychelles in April angegriffen.Sie face mandatory life in prison on piracy fee alone under a statute which was originally in 1819.
The conviction, the first since the 1820's in the United States sends a message that "Pirates US courts, face serious consequences", said Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The United States and the United Nations have beliefs at the heart of the fight against piracy, which clearly has become more expensive failed state of Somalia in recent years, particularly in the waters off the coast of the courtroom.
But condemnation of pirates difficult proven hat.Kenias was clogged quickly courtrooms, and 17 accused pirates were recently there freigesprochen.Ein of further piracy trial in Germany began this week.
Mr. MacBride said that there have been 42 pirate attacks in these waters last month, and that Somali pirates still holding 18 ships and approx. 380 crewmen for ransom sind.Er said that international security experts Somali pirates date approximately $150 million have earned value by capturing and pay merchant ships.
However, piracy experts said the convictions in the case of Nicholas not solve the fundamental problems of fighting pirates in the courtroom - especially the high cost of try and imprisonment of pirates.
Mr. MacBride specified that the Somali men in that probably their sentences will serve US sentencing is scheduled for March 2011.
"The mandatory life makes the price tag on Pirates studies very high and might be disproportionate with its debt to other federal crimes," said Eugene Kontorovich, Professor of law at the Northwestern University and an expert on the legal fight against piracy.
Defence lawyers echoed this view.Everything we have done is to a load to nehmen.Es is a colossal waste of time and effort, "David Bouchard, Abdi Wali dire said one of the Somali men defended."
Mr. Bouchard and other defence lawyers are convictions for various reasons, including the admissibility of statements, the men who made mention in their first interrogation on the Nicholas.
Defence lawyers fought piracy cargo itself, argue that since the men on board or take US Navy ship, not technically waren.Der judge decided you Pirates that international law designated violent attacks on the high seas piracy and confirmed the piracy charges.
This was a reversal of a similar case this summer in the Somali men allegedly another U.S. Navy ship attacked, but anyone with piracy numbers were not because their attack is failed.another appeals court fees in both cases is the validity of piracy nor study.
An acquittal in the case of Nicholas "would have been a big setback piracy efforts", said Mr Kontorovich.Aber that doesn't mean that U.S. now studies are courtrooms the preferred venue for piracy.
"" In this case, with such a clear U.S. nexus, was a no-brainer,"said Mr. MacBride, the U.S. Staatsanwalt.Aber future piracy will be decided studies on a case by case basis, he said.""This will require an international solution."
Write toKeith Johnson in the keith.johnson@wsj.com
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