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Updated: Tuesday, 29 Jun 2010, 2:29 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 29 Jun 2010, 2:20 PM EDT
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Attorneys for six Somali nationals who allegedly attacked a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Africa say the government's piracy prosecution is a stretch.
In a filing in Norfolk federal court, the attorneys contend the prosecutors' definition of piracy would make pirates out of Greenpeace activists attempting to blockade a whaling ship.
The attorneys are asking a judge to dismiss piracy charges against the six, who face mandatory life terms if convicted of the April 10 attack on the USS Ashland off the coast of Africa.
The men's lawyers say they did not seize or rob the ship, so their alleged actions fall short of the legal definition of piracy.
The government said Tuesday it will respond in court.
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