Negotiating ransom for Indians: Somali pirate sentenced

Mohammad Saaili Shibin, the Somali pirate responsible for negotiating the ransom for the seafarers and the sea vessels S/V Quest and M/V Marida Marguerite, was sentenced in US federal court on August 13 to multiple life sentences for piracy and related criminal actions.

The Indian crew members testified that they were brutally tortured while being held hostage by pirates.

A statement from the US Embassy here today said that FBI worked with four Indian seafarers who testified that Shibin was the ransom negotiator for conspirators who pirated the M/V Marida Marguerite, a German-owned vessel with a crew of 22 men who were held hostage off the coast of Somalia from May to December 2010.

Shibin spoke with the owners of the M/V Marida Marguerite and successfully extracted a ransom payment for the vessel and its crew. Shibin received approximately USD 30,000 to USD 50,000 as his share of the ransom payment.

"Evidence at the trial also showed that Shibin was the person who negotiated on behalf of the pirates during the hijacking of the S/V Quest wherein four hostages were shot and killed," the statement said.

"Shibin's arrest, swift trial, and multiple life sentences put international criminals on notice that they will be held accountable for their crimes and cannot hide behind borders," Daniel C Clegg, the FBI Legal Attache in New Delhi, said.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Shibin was sentenced to 10 concurrent life sentences for piracy, two consecutive life sentences for the use of a rocket propelled grenade and automatic weapons during crimes of violence, 10 years consecutive on six counts of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two 20 year sentences for the remaining counts of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.