Abduwali Muse Hoje ^new^ May 2026

Muse was brought to New York City to face federal charges—the first person to be prosecuted for piracy in a U.S. court in over a century.

Abduwali Muse Hoje: The Somali Pirate Who Tested U.S. Jurisdiction

In 2011, Muse pleaded guilty to several charges, including hijacking maritime vessels and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months in federal prison. abduwali muse hoje

Muse is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, his expected release date is in the early 2030s.

Here is a brief overview of his case and its lasting legal significance. Muse was brought to New York City to

You may not recognize his name, but Abduwali Muse Hoje was at the center of one of the most dramatic maritime incidents of the early 21st century. He is best known as the sole surviving pirate captured during the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking—an event later dramatized in the film Captain Phillips .

His case raised a major legal question: Could he be tried for piracy even though the attack happened in international waters and he was a Somali national? U.S. courts said yes, citing the universal jurisdiction principle that allows any nation to prosecute pirates. Jurisdiction In 2011, Muse pleaded guilty to several

On April 8, 2009, Muse and three other Somali pirates boarded the MV Maersk Alabama , a U.S.-flagged cargo ship carrying food aid to Kenya. When the crew fought back, the pirates fled to a lifeboat with Captain Richard Phillips as their hostage. The standoff ended four days later when U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed the other three pirates, and Muse was taken into custody.