14 accused pirates to appear at detention hearings

NORFOLK, Va. – Mar 15, 2011- A federal judge is set to decide whether 13 suspected pirates from Somalia and one from Yemen should remain in jail while awaiting trial.

The 14 men are charged with piracy, kidnapping and firearms charges in the February hijacking of a yacht that left four Americans dead.

Detention hearings are scheduled for the men throughout Tuesday in federal court in Norfolk.

If convicted of the piracy charges, the men face mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has said more charges could also be filed in the future. An indictment says at least three of the men shot and killed the four Americans aboard the yacht several hundred miles south of the Middle Eastern nation of Oman.

Source: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS