Jury selected for Somalis facing piracy charges in Norfolk

NORFOLK

Five Somalis facing piracy charges were simple fishermen kidnapped, and at times blindfolded, by war lords and forced to take part in attacks on vessels in the Indian Ocean, their attorneys told a jury in federal court today.

But to convince the jury that they’re innocent of trying to attack the Navy frigate Nicholas on April 1, they will have to somehow overcome their own words – confessions they gave to U.S. officials.

The defense attorneys had an answer for that. They told the jury to question the translations of those so-called confessions and to question why the statements were not recorded or videotaped when the capture of Somalis itself was put on tape.

“Why can’t they show you what Mr. Hasan said that day?” Norfolk attorney James Theuer, who represents pirate suspect Mohammed Modin Hasan, asked.

“The reason is they don’t want you to know what Mr. Hasan said that day,” Theuer told the jury.

U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis, three prosecutors and the five defense attorneys spent a day and a half selecting a jury.

The attorneys and the judge had a more difficult time than usual selecting a jury in part due to biases that potential jurors expressed. Some had military connections that they said would keep them from being fair. Some wondered why the Somalis had the same rights as U.S. citizens. One woman was dismissed after alerting the court that she had been a piracy victim held hostage during a pirate attack.

With 14 jurors chosen by 3 p.m., a prosecutor and the five defense attorneys finally got to address the jury.

The Nicholas was on counter-piracy patrol more than 500 miles off the east African coast the night of March 31 when crew members saw several blips on the radar.