NEW YORK (AP) – Two men have been convicted of helping Somali pirates who kidnapped a U.S. journalist for ransom and held him for 2 1/2 years, prosecutors said.

Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed and Abdi Yusuf Hassan were convicted by a federal court jury in New York on Feb. 24 of hostage-taking, conspiracy, providing material support for acts of terrorism and other crimes that carry potential life sentences.

Michael Scott Moore, a German-American journalist, was abducted in January 2012 in Galkayo, Somalia, 400 miles (643.7 kilometers) northeast of the capital of Mogadishu. He was working as a freelancer for the German publication Spiegel Online and researching a book about piracy.

The kidnappers demanded $20 million in ransom and at one point released a video showing Moore surrounded by masked kidnappers who pointed a machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade at him.

Moore was freed in September 2014. Moore has said his family raised $1.6 million for his release.

“Tahlil, a Somali Army officer, left his post to take command of the pirates holding Moore captive and obtained the machine guns and grenade launchers used to threaten and hold Moore,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Hassan, the Minister of Interior and Security for the province in Somalia where Moore was held hostage, abused his government position and led the pirates´ efforts to extort a massive ransom from Moore´s mother.”

Source: AP