Charges Dismissed Against Alleged Pirate

Edited by Graham Walker

In an interesting case regarding the definition of piracy, the U.S. District Court for the eastern District of Virginia dismissed charges against a number of accused who approached the USS ASHLAND aboard a small skiff in the Gulf of Aden. At least one person on the skiff allegedly shot at the American ship with an AK-47 rifle, resulting in return fire that killed one of the skiff's passengers. The defendants did not attempt to board the ASHLAND. They were later arrested and charged with the crime of "piracy as defined by the law of nations", in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1651, enacted in 1819. The Government argued that "piracy as defined by the law of nations" did not require the actual taking of property, but included any unauthorized armed assault or directed violent act on the high seas.