Yemeni man pleads guilty in pirate hijacking that killed 4 Americans
A Yemeni man pleaded guilty to acts of piracy on Thursday for his role in the hijacking of a yacht off the coast of east Africa that resulted in the deaths of four Americans.
Mounir Ali, 23, accepted a plea deal by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis, becoming the 11th person to plead guilty in the armed hijacking of the Quest in February, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Ali said that he and four other men from Yemen were crew members aboard a boat that was pirated by Somalis in February.
He “willingly elected to join them in return for a share of the ransom money,” but did not personally shoot or instr