Somali Pirate From Minneapolis Sentenced For Hostage Taking

New York, NY (KROC-AM News) -  A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for his involvement in the abduction of an American journalist who was held hostage by Somali pirates for 977 days.

According to a news release issued by the US Department of Justice, 56-year-old Abdi Yusuf Hassan is a naturalized US citizen who served as the Minister of the Interior for the province in Somalia where journalist Michael Scott Moore spent much of his captivity after he was grabbed by a group of heavily armed men carrying assault rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers in Somalia in January 2012. Moore was in Somalia to research piracy and the Somali economy.

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Moore remained a hostage for another two years. During this time, his captors shuttled him between safehouses, chained him at night to prevent his escape, surrounded him with armed guards, and repeatedly threatened him with bodily harm. Moore was also forced to make several proof-of-life videos requesting large ransom payments for his release. The kidnappers provided Moore with almost no information, and his access to the outside world was limited to a radio. In September 2014, following the payment of a ransom, Moore’s captors released him. - (DOJ News Release)

The Justice Department says Hassan was responsible for police and security forces in the province and served as an overall leader of the pirates, who demanded ransom from the journalist's aging mother. It was also alleged that Hassan used his own home as a base of operations for the pirates
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Moore was eventually freed in September 2014 after the pirates received their ransom payment.

Hassan, and a 43-year-old man from Somalia, were convicted of hostage taking, terrorism, and firearms offenses in connection with the ransom scheme at the end of a three week long trial in New York. The other defendant was also given a 30 year prison sentence.

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