Mohamed Abdi Hassan محمد عبدي حسن | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Somali |
Occupation(s) | kidnapper, pirate leader |
Children | Abdiqaadir |
Mohamed Abdi Hassan (Somali: Maxamed Cabdi Xasan, Arabic: محمد عبدي حسن), commonly known as Afweyne, is a convicted Somali pirate leader. He founded the Hobyo-Harardhere Piracy Network in 2005 and rapidly grew to become one of Somalia's preeminent pirates. In 2012 he began to leave the piracy "industry" and diversified his holdings into a multinational business empire. Hassan was arrested that year in Malaysia but was released as he had managed to obtain diplomatic immunity from Mogadishu.[1] Finally, in 2013 Hassan was lured to Belgium and sentenced in 2016 to twenty years' imprisonment for his many crimes.[2]