Somali pirates may have been forced
NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- An attack on a U.S. frigate by five Somalis had all the earmarks of Somali piracy, but some pirates are forced into the act, a U.S. piracy expert testified.
The April 1 attack on the USS Nicholas off the coasts of Kenya and Somalia was "consistent with a Somali piracy attack," Office of Naval Intelligence counter-piracy chief Brian P. Green testified in a trial of five Somalis accused of piracy and other charges related to their alleged assault on the Virginia-based frigate.
But he acknowledged in cross-examination it was "not uncommon" for pirates to hijack fishing vessels and use them in attacks on merchant vessels for ransom money.
Green, whose office is the senior U.S. armed forces intelligence agency, also said a fishing vessel was hijacked near the same Indian Ocean area of East Africa two days before the attack on the Nicholas, designed to provide in-depth protection for military and merchant shipping.
His statements could strengthen the defense argument that the charged Somalis were kidnapped and forced into the act, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday.
Green also acknowledged he never interviewed the pirate suspects or anyone from the Nicholas, had never been to Somalia or interviewed Somali fishermen and had never spoken to any merchant seaman taken hostage by pirates, the newspaper said.
The piracy trial is the first in the United States in more than a century
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