The sentencing in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, was the first sentencing among 14 Somali pirates prosecuted for the deadly hijacking in February off the coast of Oman.
Ali Abdi Mohamed, 30, and Burhan Yusuf, 31, had pleaded guilty to charges of piracy, admitting in court papers they had been searching the high seas looking for a vessel to snatch and hold for ransom. They found the S/V Quest, a small yacht carrying two couples from the U.S. West Coast: Scott and Jean Adam, and Robert Riggle and Phyllis Macay.
After nine days, when attempts to negotiate a solution with a U.S. Navy warship failed, co-conspirators aboard the nearby hijacked vessel shot and killed the four U.S. citizens.
"This is the first case where American lives have been lost due to Somali piracy," said U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride. He added that the sentences "send a message that armed attacks on the high seas carry lifelong consequences."
Janice Federcyk of the FBI's New York office said the harsh sentences should "send a clear message that the days of unbridled armed robbery and extortion at sea are over."
Court documents show that 19 Somalis were involved in the hijacking of the Quest. Four were killed in the episode, and 14 were transported to the United States for trial in Norfolk. One juvenile aboard the ship was not charged.
Of the remaining dozen defendants, nine will be sentenced in coming weeks. The three others face the most severe charges, potentially carrying the death penalty, of kidnapping, hostage-taking and murder
