Mystery surrounds Somali pirate's personal life
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN and MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED – 53 minutes ago
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — At home in central Somalia, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse frequented a dusty, outdoor cinema after school, watched Bollywood films dubbed into his native Somali and, his mother says, "was wise beyond his age."
Now Muse — the sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain — is a world away in New York City to face what are believed to be the first piracy charges in the United States in more than a century. He smiled but said nothing Tuesday as he was led into a federal building under heavy guard.
"The last time I saw him he was in his school uniform," the teen's mother, Adar Abdirahman Hassan, 40, told The Associated Press by telephone Tuesday from her home in the central Somali town of Galkayo. "He was brainwashed. People who are older than him outwitted him, people who are older than him duped him."
Muse's personal details are murky, with his parents in Somalia insisting he was tricked into getting involved in piracy. His age also remained unclear. His parents said he is only 16; law enforcement said he is at least 18, meaning prosecutors will not have to take extra legal steps to try him in a U.S. court.
Muse's mother said she has no records to prove his age, but she and the teen's father say he is 16.
"I never delivered my babies in a hospital," she said. "A traditional midwife helped me deliver."
A schoolmate, however, said he believed Muse was older.
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