Abukar Osman Beyle (left)and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar (Right)
By LARRY O'DELL
Associated Press
Thursday, January 29, 2015
RICHMOND, Va. — Two Somali pirates convicted in the shooting deaths of four Americans aboard a yacht will have their appeals heard in a Virginia courtroom.
Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar were sentenced to 21 life terms for their roles in the February 2011 attack off the coast of Africa. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday morning in Richmond.
Beyle and Abrar were among 19 men who boarded the 58-foot yacht in hopes of holding the Americans for ransom. The plan fell apart when the U.S. Navy intervened.
Yacht owners Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., and their friends, Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were killed. Four pirates also died..
Source: AP