The Threat of Modern Piracy- A Merged Thread
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It should be noted that at least one international organization, the World Peace Foundation, questions whether any toxic dumping actually took place.1Honey_Coombs said:
1 Robert I. Rotberg, Combating Maritime Piracy: A Policy Brief with Recommendations for Action (Cambridge, MA: World Peace Foundation, 2010), 11.
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H_C,
No one is disputing what you write about the desperation faced by ordinary Somalis. I was simply reacting to your initial post about piracy being related to the supposed dumping of toxic waste and the protection of the fishing industry from foreign overfishing.
We - the coalition here in the Gulf of Aden - know that some of the pirates used to be fishermen. But the fishing industry hasn't completely collapsed. The pirates do, from time to time, attack fishing vessels. See here for a reasonably current list of ships being held. There are plenty of legitimate fisherman still earning a living today. However, piracy is relatively easy. And it is even easier money. Quite right, the average pirate isn't raking in loads of cash - like any organised crime - and that is exactly and all that piracy is - a crime - only the guys at the top are getting rich - really, really rich. More of the pirates we catch are life-long criminals - gangsters, thugs and the like. Some used to work for Aidid . Some are simply poor folks with few, if any other options. Most come from the Hawiye and Darod Clans . Not nice guys, fighting against the TFG and all. ALL are attracted to the easy money. If they have even a shred of decency and altruism, why then must the EU run escorts to protect the World Food Program ships? Surely there can be nothing wrong with trying to feed the hungry, impoverished Somalis? So why attack a food shipment? Cash money.
Again, I was simply calling you out on your initial posting, which was simply incorrect. There are no easy answers in this particular game, not until we can restore peace, order and some semblance of government ashore.
Good luck on your history essay
Edited for clarity
No one is disputing what you write about the desperation faced by ordinary Somalis. I was simply reacting to your initial post about piracy being related to the supposed dumping of toxic waste and the protection of the fishing industry from foreign overfishing.
We - the coalition here in the Gulf of Aden - know that some of the pirates used to be fishermen. But the fishing industry hasn't completely collapsed. The pirates do, from time to time, attack fishing vessels. See here for a reasonably current list of ships being held. There are plenty of legitimate fisherman still earning a living today. However, piracy is relatively easy. And it is even easier money. Quite right, the average pirate isn't raking in loads of cash - like any organised crime - and that is exactly and all that piracy is - a crime - only the guys at the top are getting rich - really, really rich. More of the pirates we catch are life-long criminals - gangsters, thugs and the like. Some used to work for Aidid . Some are simply poor folks with few, if any other options. Most come from the Hawiye and Darod Clans . Not nice guys, fighting against the TFG and all. ALL are attracted to the easy money. If they have even a shred of decency and altruism, why then must the EU run escorts to protect the World Food Program ships? Surely there can be nothing wrong with trying to feed the hungry, impoverished Somalis? So why attack a food shipment? Cash money.
Again, I was simply calling you out on your initial posting, which was simply incorrect. There are no easy answers in this particular game, not until we can restore peace, order and some semblance of government ashore.
Good luck on your history essay
Edited for clarity
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;DGAP said:
That was mission leave. I still have 2 months left here.
But it should get a little less frustrating. With the SW Monsoon season starting, seas are too rough for pirates in the Somali Basin. They must now consolidate their operations in the Gulf of Aden. Which we then flood with coalition assets. Kinda like shooting fish in a barrel.
It is only 100 F here today. At least I rotate home before Ramadan when we all have to wear long sleeves and long pants everywhere, and incidentally, the winds die off.
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Okay. I just got destroyed. Well, I surrender my position. :whiteflag:
I didn't know that - about the aid ships being attacked. It just all seems random, y'know? Why use toxic waste as an excuse, of all things? Aye, what MARS said makes a lot of sense, though. *head explodes*
Good luck with the remainder of your tour!
Goodbye forum, hello British Imperialism of the 1900's :blotto:
I didn't know that - about the aid ships being attacked. It just all seems random, y'know? Why use toxic waste as an excuse, of all things? Aye, what MARS said makes a lot of sense, though. *head explodes*
Good luck with the remainder of your tour!
Goodbye forum, hello British Imperialism of the 1900's :blotto:
Two suspected pirate attacks thwarted off Somalia
By the CNN Wire Staff May 30, 2010
Article Link
The Seychelles Coast Guard and the Australian navy separately disrupted two potential pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, officials said Sunday.
In the first incident, the Seychelles Coast Guard were led to the suspected pirates Saturday by a Swedish plane that is part of the European Union Naval Force.
The alleged pirate group consisted of a whaler, used as a mother ship, and two attack skiffs. The boats were first spotted about 500 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, the naval force said.
"After confirming that they had pirate paraphernalia on board, nine suspected pirates were disarmed and their two attack skiffs were destroyed," EU NAVFOR said in a statement.
"The suspected pirates were then embarked in their mother ship (whaler) and released," it added.
Authorities take suspected pirates into custody if they are caught during an attack.
In the second incident announced Sunday, the Australian navy spotted a suspicious skiff about one nautical mile from a merchant vessel.
When the navy ship Parramatta approached the skiff, it took off, the Combined Maritime Forces said in a statement.
The warship crew noticed the people in the skiff throwing items in the water, the statement said.
"When Parramatta closed in on the skiff, the suspected pirates raised their hands in surrender and a boarding team was dispatched to the vessel. Fifteen drums of fuel were found on board," the statement said.
The skiff was marked with indelible paint to allow coalition and other forces to track and identify of the skiff in the future. The suspected pirates were released.
Article Link
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By the CNN Wire Staff May 30, 2010
Article Link
The Seychelles Coast Guard and the Australian navy separately disrupted two potential pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, officials said Sunday.
In the first incident, the Seychelles Coast Guard were led to the suspected pirates Saturday by a Swedish plane that is part of the European Union Naval Force.
The alleged pirate group consisted of a whaler, used as a mother ship, and two attack skiffs. The boats were first spotted about 500 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, the naval force said.
"After confirming that they had pirate paraphernalia on board, nine suspected pirates were disarmed and their two attack skiffs were destroyed," EU NAVFOR said in a statement.
"The suspected pirates were then embarked in their mother ship (whaler) and released," it added.
Authorities take suspected pirates into custody if they are caught during an attack.
In the second incident announced Sunday, the Australian navy spotted a suspicious skiff about one nautical mile from a merchant vessel.
When the navy ship Parramatta approached the skiff, it took off, the Combined Maritime Forces said in a statement.
The warship crew noticed the people in the skiff throwing items in the water, the statement said.
"When Parramatta closed in on the skiff, the suspected pirates raised their hands in surrender and a boarding team was dispatched to the vessel. Fifteen drums of fuel were found on board," the statement said.
The skiff was marked with indelible paint to allow coalition and other forces to track and identify of the skiff in the future. The suspected pirates were released.
Article Link
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Having been in that area of the world several times and no doubt going back several times in the future, this comment is inexcusable to the job our sailors and those of other nations are doing there. Keep it up and it will be goodbye forum for you!
Milnet.Ca Staff
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Honey_Coombs said:
Wowa, hey, I meant the essay I'm doing. I'm doing an essay on British Imperialism in 1900's. Good bye forum (y'know, cause I'm leaving now), hello essay (because I'm about to continue working on it).
C'mon. There was no insult there. I even mentioned it a post earlier (see above quotation).
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Piracy from another corner of the world:
Somali security forces free ship, captain killed
Article Link
The Associated Press
Date: Thursday Jun. 3, 2010 6:03 AM ET
NAIROBI, Kenya — Security forces from Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region stormed a hijacked cargo vessel early Thursday and outgunned the pirates holding it after they fatally shot the ship's Pakistani captain, authorities said.
Authorities decided to try and free the Panama-flagged ship by force after pirates refused pleas to surrender and instead killed the captain, said Said Mohamed Raage, who is the minister of marine transport and ports in the region.
"We can't afford letting pirates capture Somali-charted ships. If we don't act so decisively they will continue hijacking all Somali-bound cargo ships," Raage told The Associated Press.
Two officers were wounded during a brief shootout with the pirates and ultimately all seven pirates were detained, he said.
While rescue operations by Somali ragtag security forces are rare, it's not the first time they have tried to free a ship. In 2008, they stormed a hijacked ship carrying food to the war-ravaged, poor country, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates.
The QSM Dubai had been hijacked early Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden while headed for a port in the breakaway northern region of Somaliland. The crew aboard the ship hailed from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. It had sailed from Brazil and carried goods for both Somaliland and Puntland regions.
Puntland, which declared itself an autonomous state within Somalia in 1998, has generally been spared the violence that has wracked much of Somalia's southern and central regions. But pirates use the region as a base of operations.
Thursday's incident comes barely a day after the crew of a Libyan-owned cargo ship pounced on their sleeping Somali captors, disarming the pirates and killing five of them. The crew was able to regain control of their vessel, which had been hijacked Feb. 3 in the Gulf of Aden.
More on link
Article Link
The Associated Press
Date: Thursday Jun. 3, 2010 6:03 AM ET
NAIROBI, Kenya — Security forces from Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region stormed a hijacked cargo vessel early Thursday and outgunned the pirates holding it after they fatally shot the ship's Pakistani captain, authorities said.
Authorities decided to try and free the Panama-flagged ship by force after pirates refused pleas to surrender and instead killed the captain, said Said Mohamed Raage, who is the minister of marine transport and ports in the region.
"We can't afford letting pirates capture Somali-charted ships. If we don't act so decisively they will continue hijacking all Somali-bound cargo ships," Raage told The Associated Press.
Two officers were wounded during a brief shootout with the pirates and ultimately all seven pirates were detained, he said.
While rescue operations by Somali ragtag security forces are rare, it's not the first time they have tried to free a ship. In 2008, they stormed a hijacked ship carrying food to the war-ravaged, poor country, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates.
The QSM Dubai had been hijacked early Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden while headed for a port in the breakaway northern region of Somaliland. The crew aboard the ship hailed from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. It had sailed from Brazil and carried goods for both Somaliland and Puntland regions.
Puntland, which declared itself an autonomous state within Somalia in 1998, has generally been spared the violence that has wracked much of Somalia's southern and central regions. But pirates use the region as a base of operations.
Thursday's incident comes barely a day after the crew of a Libyan-owned cargo ship pounced on their sleeping Somali captors, disarming the pirates and killing five of them. The crew was able to regain control of their vessel, which had been hijacked Feb. 3 in the Gulf of Aden.
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Mauritius says ready to try, imprison pirates
By JEAN PAUL AROUFF, Reuters
Article Link
PORT LOUIS - Mauritius is ready to try and jail suspected pirates, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said on Saturday, joining three other countries in the region that have shown interest in doing the same.
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia has made it the world's most dangerous shipping lane and earned Somali sea bandits tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and raised insurance premiums for ships.
International navies trying to counter piracy off Somalia are often reluctant to take suspects to their own countries because they either lack the jurisdiction to put them on trial there, or they fear the pirates may seek asylum.
Often pirates arrested on the high seas are returned to Somalia's lawless shores.
"During a meeting with Baroness Catherine Ashton, European Union representative for foreign affairs and security policy, I have expressed our wish to try and judge suspected pirates," Ramgoolam told reporters.
Mauritius joins Kenya, Seychelles and Tanzania in saying they are ready to prosecute pirates.
Kenya has borne the brunt of taking in and prosecuting sea bandits seized by foreign navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden's busy shipping lanes that link Europe with Africa and Asia.
Ramgoolam said Mauritius needed to play a more active role in fighting piracy in the region, given its impact on security, fishing and tourism.
However, he said Mauritius needed financial assistance and training.
"We need the help of EU as we must set up a special prison to detain pirates captured on the Indian Ocean as I don't want them to get mixed up with our local detainees," Ramgoolam said.
Pirates continue to outwit an international patrol of warships, forcing some shipping companies to re-route around southern Africa while others employ private armed guards.
Somali pirates are holding at least 11 ships. On Friday, they released British-flagged vehicle carrier Asian Glory after a ransom was paid.
More on link
By JEAN PAUL AROUFF, Reuters
Article Link
PORT LOUIS - Mauritius is ready to try and jail suspected pirates, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said on Saturday, joining three other countries in the region that have shown interest in doing the same.
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia has made it the world's most dangerous shipping lane and earned Somali sea bandits tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and raised insurance premiums for ships.
International navies trying to counter piracy off Somalia are often reluctant to take suspects to their own countries because they either lack the jurisdiction to put them on trial there, or they fear the pirates may seek asylum.
Often pirates arrested on the high seas are returned to Somalia's lawless shores.
"During a meeting with Baroness Catherine Ashton, European Union representative for foreign affairs and security policy, I have expressed our wish to try and judge suspected pirates," Ramgoolam told reporters.
Mauritius joins Kenya, Seychelles and Tanzania in saying they are ready to prosecute pirates.
Kenya has borne the brunt of taking in and prosecuting sea bandits seized by foreign navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden's busy shipping lanes that link Europe with Africa and Asia.
Ramgoolam said Mauritius needed to play a more active role in fighting piracy in the region, given its impact on security, fishing and tourism.
However, he said Mauritius needed financial assistance and training.
"We need the help of EU as we must set up a special prison to detain pirates captured on the Indian Ocean as I don't want them to get mixed up with our local detainees," Ramgoolam said.
Pirates continue to outwit an international patrol of warships, forcing some shipping companies to re-route around southern Africa while others employ private armed guards.
Somali pirates are holding at least 11 ships. On Friday, they released British-flagged vehicle carrier Asian Glory after a ransom was paid.
More on link
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J
jollyjacktar
Guest
Good start. Not a long enough sentence, but a start. Hopefully the rest of countries involved in anti-piracy ops will start to grow some balls and take these dirtbags to trial and jail instead of catch and release fishing.
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Singapore's RSS Endurance heads for Somalia to join other CTF151 warships.
Singapore Ministry of Defence link
Singapore Ministry of Defence link
Below, members of the then Singapore-led CTF 151 command team (standing) working with their international counterpart on board the then CTF 151 flagship USS Farragut.
From January to April 2010, Rear Adm. Bernard Miranda, Republic of Singapore Navy, served as commander of CTF-151. This deployment of the RSS Endurance is part of Singapore's commitment to CTF-151, which is currently under the command of Rear Adm. Beom Rim Lee of the Republic of Korea Navy (to whom Rear Adm. Bernard Miranda handed over command at the end of April).
In May 2010, Rear Adm. Beom Rim Lee, Commander, CTF 151, also met with Russian Navy Captain First Rank Ildar F. Ahmerov, onboard the Russian warship RFN Marshal Shaposhnikov (BPK 543), to discuss mutual cooperation between the two. CTF 151 and the Russian Navy are conducting counter-piracy operations in the Somali Basin and Gulf of Aden.
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The Good Little Pirate Versus The Organ Thieves
June 28, 2010
Article Link
For the first time, a Somali pirate turned against his fellow brigands, to help a captured crew kill its guards and get away. For the crew of the cargo ship Rim, this was a lifesaver. In this case, one of the pirates (a 13 year old boy named Ahmed), who served as a cook, grew friendly with the crew. He brought them a SIM card for a cell phone the crew had hidden from the pirates, as well as extra food. The problems was that no one wanted to ransom the ship. The pirates originally asked for $3 million in ransom, and kept reducing that until it reached $300,000. No one would pay.
The reason, it transpired, was because the Libyan owner had recently sold the ship for scrap, and after its current cargo of ceramics clay was delivered to Yemen, the ship would move on to India, where it would be broken up. The small (4,800 ton) transport, MV Rim, was taken by pirates last February. The ship was owned, until shortly before its last voyage, by Libyans, and registered in North Korea. When captured, the ship was uninsured.
When the pirates realized there would be no ransom, they sought to arrange for someone to buy the organs of the crew. The crew were told by Ahmed about this plan to kill them. They convinced Ahmed to get them three AK-47s. Then, on June 2nd, the Rim crew killed the six pirates guarding them, and got the ship underway. With other pirates in pursuit in another hijacked ship, the Rim crew called the anti-piracy patrol. Shortly thereafter, the 37 year old engine of the Rim died. Just in time, an armed helicopter showed up, and forced the pursuing pirate ship to back off. Then a warship showed up and took the crew, and Ahmed, off the Rim. The crew were sent home, the Rim was simply cut loose, and may later be sunk (the anti-piracy patrol is keeping track of it, and perhaps inspecting it, because of the North Korean connection). Ahmed was taken aboard a Dutch warship, and has disappeared. It's believed that the Dutch quietly gave the boy asylum. Somali custom makes Ahmed responsible for the death of the six Somali guards, and Ahmed will have to disappear into some form of witness protection status to survive.
end
June 28, 2010
Article Link
For the first time, a Somali pirate turned against his fellow brigands, to help a captured crew kill its guards and get away. For the crew of the cargo ship Rim, this was a lifesaver. In this case, one of the pirates (a 13 year old boy named Ahmed), who served as a cook, grew friendly with the crew. He brought them a SIM card for a cell phone the crew had hidden from the pirates, as well as extra food. The problems was that no one wanted to ransom the ship. The pirates originally asked for $3 million in ransom, and kept reducing that until it reached $300,000. No one would pay.
The reason, it transpired, was because the Libyan owner had recently sold the ship for scrap, and after its current cargo of ceramics clay was delivered to Yemen, the ship would move on to India, where it would be broken up. The small (4,800 ton) transport, MV Rim, was taken by pirates last February. The ship was owned, until shortly before its last voyage, by Libyans, and registered in North Korea. When captured, the ship was uninsured.
When the pirates realized there would be no ransom, they sought to arrange for someone to buy the organs of the crew. The crew were told by Ahmed about this plan to kill them. They convinced Ahmed to get them three AK-47s. Then, on June 2nd, the Rim crew killed the six pirates guarding them, and got the ship underway. With other pirates in pursuit in another hijacked ship, the Rim crew called the anti-piracy patrol. Shortly thereafter, the 37 year old engine of the Rim died. Just in time, an armed helicopter showed up, and forced the pursuing pirate ship to back off. Then a warship showed up and took the crew, and Ahmed, off the Rim. The crew were sent home, the Rim was simply cut loose, and may later be sunk (the anti-piracy patrol is keeping track of it, and perhaps inspecting it, because of the North Korean connection). Ahmed was taken aboard a Dutch warship, and has disappeared. It's believed that the Dutch quietly gave the boy asylum. Somali custom makes Ahmed responsible for the death of the six Somali guards, and Ahmed will have to disappear into some form of witness protection status to survive.
end
Attorneys: Accused pirates blindfolded, handcuffed
Article Link
Jul 19, 5:03 PM EDT By STEVE SZKOTAK Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Three Somali men being prosecuted on U.S. piracy charges say they were held naked, blindfolded and handcuffed for days without an interpreter, while another says an interpreter threatened to toss him overboard, attorneys argued in court papers Monday.
Attorneys representing the Somalis also claim charges against one of the defendants should be dismissed because he is a juvenile.
In the case of two defendants, attorneys said statements the men made shouldn't be allowed in court because they weren't advised of their Miranda rights to remain silent and have an attorney.
The motions filed electronically Monday were among several submitted in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, where five Somalis are being prosecuted for the alleged April 1 attack on the USS Nicholas off the coast of Africa.
The Nicholas defendants and six Somali men accused in the April 10 attack on the USS Ashland are scheduled to be arraigned July 28 on a new indictment that adds more charges. All face mandatory life terms if convicted of the piracy charges. Each has pleaded not guilty.
The government declined to respond Monday to the motions filed in the cases, saying it will respond in court.
The new filings expand on the defendants' version of what occurred when their small skiff encountered the Nicholas in the pirate-infested waters off north Africa.
In the case of Gabul Abdullahi Ali, he and two other defendants were held for more than three days handcuffed and blindfolded before an interpreter was made available, according to Ali's attorney, William J. Holmes.
Ali does not recall ever being advised of his right to remain silent or to request counsel, Holmes wrote.
If the government argues that point, Holmes wrote, Ali would not be expected to understand "the terminology used in our legal system, which is completely foreign to him because of his lack of education."
At hearings in Norfolk, none of the defendants spoke English or claimed any formal education.
An attorney for Mohammed Modin Hasan said an interpreter told him the Navy would toss him overboard if he did not admit he was a pirate. Hasan told investigators he was captured while fishing and forced to participate in the attack on the Nicholas, attorney James R. Theuer wrote.
Theuer also wrote that the alleged crimes happened before Hasan's 18th birthday.
More on link
Article Link
Jul 19, 5:03 PM EDT By STEVE SZKOTAK Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Three Somali men being prosecuted on U.S. piracy charges say they were held naked, blindfolded and handcuffed for days without an interpreter, while another says an interpreter threatened to toss him overboard, attorneys argued in court papers Monday.
Attorneys representing the Somalis also claim charges against one of the defendants should be dismissed because he is a juvenile.
In the case of two defendants, attorneys said statements the men made shouldn't be allowed in court because they weren't advised of their Miranda rights to remain silent and have an attorney.
The motions filed electronically Monday were among several submitted in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, where five Somalis are being prosecuted for the alleged April 1 attack on the USS Nicholas off the coast of Africa.
The Nicholas defendants and six Somali men accused in the April 10 attack on the USS Ashland are scheduled to be arraigned July 28 on a new indictment that adds more charges. All face mandatory life terms if convicted of the piracy charges. Each has pleaded not guilty.
The government declined to respond Monday to the motions filed in the cases, saying it will respond in court.
The new filings expand on the defendants' version of what occurred when their small skiff encountered the Nicholas in the pirate-infested waters off north Africa.
In the case of Gabul Abdullahi Ali, he and two other defendants were held for more than three days handcuffed and blindfolded before an interpreter was made available, according to Ali's attorney, William J. Holmes.
Ali does not recall ever being advised of his right to remain silent or to request counsel, Holmes wrote.
If the government argues that point, Holmes wrote, Ali would not be expected to understand "the terminology used in our legal system, which is completely foreign to him because of his lack of education."
At hearings in Norfolk, none of the defendants spoke English or claimed any formal education.
An attorney for Mohammed Modin Hasan said an interpreter told him the Navy would toss him overboard if he did not admit he was a pirate. Hasan told investigators he was captured while fishing and forced to participate in the attack on the Nicholas, attorney James R. Theuer wrote.
Theuer also wrote that the alleged crimes happened before Hasan's 18th birthday.
More on link
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George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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One may begin to wonder how far into ones youth one becomes a criminal and corrupt. Here, is an example of a young Somali refugee to Canada, who faces serious consequences for his way of life, and is branded a danger to Canadian society.
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Ex-child refugee faces deportation to native Somalia after life of crime in Canada
By Andrew Duffy, The Ottawa Citizen
August 9, 2010
LINK
OTTAWA — An Ottawa man, who came to Canada from Somalia as a child refugee and went on to a life of crime, faces deportation to a strife-torn homeland that he hasn’t seen since the age of eight.
Abadir Ali, 26, has been declared a danger to the Canadian public by federal immigration officials.
That designation was upheld as lawful in a recent Federal Court decision.
In that ruling, Judge Leonard Mandamin said immigration officials arrived at a reasonable conclusion in finding that Ali’s risk to the Canadian public outweighed the personal risk he faces in Somalia.
Ali, now held at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, has been fighting his deportation for more than two years.
His lawyer, Felix Weekes, said Ali can’t speak the native language in Somalia, has no relatives in the country and no familiarity with its culture.
“They’re getting ready to send this kid back to a country he doesn’t know anything about,” Weekes said in an interview Monday.
Ottawa’s Somali community has expressed concern about the case through a petition presented to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. More than 200 people signed the petition, which said that sending Ali back to Somalia amounted to a death sentence.
The petition asks the government to suspend Ali’s deportation until conditions in Somalia have improved.
Born in southern Somalia, Abadir Ali came to Canada in 1991 with his stepmother. They were granted refugee status one year later, and he became a permanent resident in May 1993.
Ali suffered a troubled youth, court documents show, and began to accumulate a criminal record at the age of 19. He was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and obstructing a police officer in 2002. Another obstruction conviction followed in 2004.
Court documents show immigration officials warned Ali in November, 2006 that he could be deported unless he stopped his criminal activity and began to lead a more productive life.
Ali, however, was arrested less than a year later by Ottawa police for aggravated assault. He had severely beaten a young woman who was left with permanent injuries. He was sentenced for the crime in January 2008.
Federal immigration officials then began the process of deporting him.
Ottawa’s Abdiwahid Osman Haji, a Somali-trained lawyer who has lobbied on behalf of Ali, said the young man deserves a chance to rehabilitate himself in Canada since none of his crimes were so serious as to draw a federal prison term. What’s more, he said, Ali has expressed remorse for the offences, which were committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Haji said it would be cruel and unusual punishment to return Ali to a part of Somalia where he’s sure to be persecuted for his tribal affiliations — he is the product of an inter-clan marriage — and his western sensibilities.
In Somalia, Islamic extremist groups, al Shabbab and Hizbul Islam, are fighting federal government forces centred in Mogadishu.
“They will notice right away that he’s a foreigner,” Haji argued. “They’ll consider him a spy, the terrorists, or they’ll recruit him because he speaks English.”
It’s hard to imagine, he added, how Ali could survive with little money and no contacts in Somalia. “The only country he knows is Canada,” Haji said.
A recent United Nations report on Somalia describes the country as a failed state, which “remains one of the most insecure places in the world, with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.” But the same report notes that two regions in the country, Somaliland and Puntland, “appear to be relatively calm” and are host to refugees and asylum-seekers.
Federal officials initially planned to return Ali to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, but the Canada Border Services Agency later proposed a different set of travel arrangements that would take him on a charter flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Bosaso, a port city in the Puntland region. Canadian officials planned to take Ali as far as Nairobi, and then turn him over to private security personnel for the flight to Somalia.
In his recent ruling, Judge Mandamin ordered the government to re-assess the risk of returning Ali to Somalia using the revised travel arrangements. But the judge stressed that “this relates to risk arriving from travel and it does not include a new risk assessment concerning refoulment to Somalia.”
It means Ali’s deportation will likely be delayed for several months as the new, relatively narrow risk assessment is completed and reviewed.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Ex-child refugee faces deportation to native Somalia after life of crime in Canada
By Andrew Duffy, The Ottawa Citizen
August 9, 2010
LINK
OTTAWA — An Ottawa man, who came to Canada from Somalia as a child refugee and went on to a life of crime, faces deportation to a strife-torn homeland that he hasn’t seen since the age of eight.
Abadir Ali, 26, has been declared a danger to the Canadian public by federal immigration officials.
That designation was upheld as lawful in a recent Federal Court decision.
In that ruling, Judge Leonard Mandamin said immigration officials arrived at a reasonable conclusion in finding that Ali’s risk to the Canadian public outweighed the personal risk he faces in Somalia.
Ali, now held at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, has been fighting his deportation for more than two years.
His lawyer, Felix Weekes, said Ali can’t speak the native language in Somalia, has no relatives in the country and no familiarity with its culture.
“They’re getting ready to send this kid back to a country he doesn’t know anything about,” Weekes said in an interview Monday.
Ottawa’s Somali community has expressed concern about the case through a petition presented to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. More than 200 people signed the petition, which said that sending Ali back to Somalia amounted to a death sentence.
The petition asks the government to suspend Ali’s deportation until conditions in Somalia have improved.
Born in southern Somalia, Abadir Ali came to Canada in 1991 with his stepmother. They were granted refugee status one year later, and he became a permanent resident in May 1993.
Ali suffered a troubled youth, court documents show, and began to accumulate a criminal record at the age of 19. He was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and obstructing a police officer in 2002. Another obstruction conviction followed in 2004.
Court documents show immigration officials warned Ali in November, 2006 that he could be deported unless he stopped his criminal activity and began to lead a more productive life.
Ali, however, was arrested less than a year later by Ottawa police for aggravated assault. He had severely beaten a young woman who was left with permanent injuries. He was sentenced for the crime in January 2008.
Federal immigration officials then began the process of deporting him.
Ottawa’s Abdiwahid Osman Haji, a Somali-trained lawyer who has lobbied on behalf of Ali, said the young man deserves a chance to rehabilitate himself in Canada since none of his crimes were so serious as to draw a federal prison term. What’s more, he said, Ali has expressed remorse for the offences, which were committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Haji said it would be cruel and unusual punishment to return Ali to a part of Somalia where he’s sure to be persecuted for his tribal affiliations — he is the product of an inter-clan marriage — and his western sensibilities.
In Somalia, Islamic extremist groups, al Shabbab and Hizbul Islam, are fighting federal government forces centred in Mogadishu.
“They will notice right away that he’s a foreigner,” Haji argued. “They’ll consider him a spy, the terrorists, or they’ll recruit him because he speaks English.”
It’s hard to imagine, he added, how Ali could survive with little money and no contacts in Somalia. “The only country he knows is Canada,” Haji said.
A recent United Nations report on Somalia describes the country as a failed state, which “remains one of the most insecure places in the world, with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.” But the same report notes that two regions in the country, Somaliland and Puntland, “appear to be relatively calm” and are host to refugees and asylum-seekers.
Federal officials initially planned to return Ali to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, but the Canada Border Services Agency later proposed a different set of travel arrangements that would take him on a charter flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Bosaso, a port city in the Puntland region. Canadian officials planned to take Ali as far as Nairobi, and then turn him over to private security personnel for the flight to Somalia.
In his recent ruling, Judge Mandamin ordered the government to re-assess the risk of returning Ali to Somalia using the revised travel arrangements. But the judge stressed that “this relates to risk arriving from travel and it does not include a new risk assessment concerning refoulment to Somalia.”
It means Ali’s deportation will likely be delayed for several months as the new, relatively narrow risk assessment is completed and reviewed.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
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