Supreme Court turns down appeal from Somali pirates January 22, 2013 - 19:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from Somali men who were the first people convicted on federal piracy charges in nearly 200 years, The Associated Press reports. The justices did not comment Tuesday in refusing to disturb the convictions and sentences of life in prison. Defense lawyers had argued the men were innocent fishermen who had been abducted by pirates and forced to fire their weapons at a U.S. Navy ship. But the government said that the Somalis had confessed to attacking the USS Nicholas after mistaking it for a merchant ship. The Nicholas, based in Norfolk, Va., was part of an international flotilla fighting piracy in the seas off Somalia. The court also rejected a separate appeal from another group of Somalis who have yet to be tried on piracy charges.   Top stories Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive.   Partner news |  Latest news Viva sees growing demand for cloud services  In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud servicesArmenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin.Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats.Balance of attached cards in the Idram&IDBank app From now on, users will be able to view the online balances of cards issued by ArCa system banks and attached to the app. |
