The lay judges who sentenced two Somali pirates to 10 years in prison Friday said that while they had initial qualms about a case they considered foreign, they came to believe it was their duty as part of the international community to try the defendants.
They also expressed hope that both Mohamed Urgus Adeysey, who said he is 23, and Abdinur Hussein Ali, 38, repent while in prison and use their time behind bars to learn basic skills, including reading and writing, so they can return to Somalia and help develop their troubled country.
The two had sought to hijack a Bahama-registered tanker operated by a Japanese company.