Should have been hung from the yard-arm.
B Published on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com ( <http://hamptonroads.com/> http://hamptonroads.com) Sailor says Somalis were stripped, cuffed NORFOLK Five Somalis on trial in federal court facing piracy charges were stripped, blindfolded and handcuffed nearly around the clock after they were captured by the Navy in the Indian Ocean earlier this year, a sailor testified Tuesday. Federal prosecutors showed the jury photos and videos of the events that followed the capture of the five Somalis on April 1. Witnesses have said that two of the Somalis fired AK-47 rifles at the Navy frigate Nicholas. The photos showed the Somalis wearing athletic clothing, including soccer jerseys and shorts. One shirt said Barcelona and another Manchester, both popular Europeans soccer teams. Jacob Smith, a petty officer first class and master at arms aboard the Norfolk-based Nicholas, said clothing was cut off the detainees and they were forced to lie face down on mats. After brief interrogations, the Somalis were given so-called "poopy suits" to wear and placed outdoors under a weather awning, handcuffed to the ship. Smith said he and other sailors recovered evidence from the two boats the Somalis used, including rounds of AK-47 ammunition. No weapons were found, but prosecutors said the Somalis threw the AK-47s and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher overboard. The small skiff that carried three Somalis had 21 fuel containers. The mother ship had ten 55-gallon fuel containers, plus a 50-pound bag of rice, food and candy, cigarettes and 24 flashlights with batteries, Smith said. Ropes and grappling-type hooks were found. The Somalis were kept on the deck of the Nicholas for three weeks, forced to urinate overboard and defecate in buckets while under constant watch by armed guards, Smith said. He said he did retrieve "comfort items" for the Somalis, including more cigarettes and their prayer mats. The trial will continue this morning in U.S. District Court with more prosecution witnesses. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
