Somali Pirates Sentenced to 30 Years for 977-Day Hostage Ordeal of American Journalist

Two Somali pirates have been sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. prison for their roles in the harrowing 977-day captivity of American journalist Michael Scott Moore. The U.S. Justice Department announced the landmark judgement against Abdi Yusef Hassan, 56, and Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, 43, on Wednesday.

The men were convicted in February 2023 by a New York jury on charges including hostage-taking, terrorism, and firearms offences, following a trial that revealed chilling details of Moore’s abduction and brutal imprisonment.

Michael Scott Moore, a freelance journalist, travelled to Somalia in January 2012 to report on piracy and the local economy. Shortly after his arrival near Galkayo, armed militants ambushed him with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. For nearly three years, Moore endured unimaginable suffering—shuttled between pirate hideouts, chained at night, and coerced into making ransom pleas in proof-of-life videos.

Initially held with Seychellois fishermen abducted off Somalia’s coast, Moore was later transferred to the hijacked vessel F/V Naham III, where he joined 28 captives from Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

There, he learned that the pirates had executed the ship’s captain and stored his body onboard.

Moore also witnessed the brutal beating of a fellow prisoner, a fisherman, as a warning of the violence his captors were capable of. He was released in 2014, reportedly after a $2 million ransom was paid.

Hassan and Mohamed played pivotal roles in Moore’s prolonged captivity. Hassan, a naturalised U.S. citizen and influential member of Galmudug province’s security forces, acted as the pirates’ leader, overseeing ransom negotiations and organising proof-of-life videos from his home. Mohamed, a Somali army officer, used his military expertise to fortify Moore’s imprisonment, ensuring armed guards and heavy weaponry surrounded him at all times.

Somali piracy peaked in 2011, with 237 attacks leading to hundreds of hostages and costing the global economy an estimated $7 billion. Shipping companies rerouted vessels and invested heavily in armed security to avoid pirate-infested waters, driving up industry costs.

The investigation into Hassan and Mohamed’s crimes involved the FBI’s Boston and Minneapolis offices, the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. Both men will serve supervised release following their prison terms, though their chances of long-term freedom remain slim given the severity of their offences.