Cyprus remands hijacker who wanted to see ex-wife
He asks what one is expected to do when he hasn’t seen his wife and children for 24 years
Larnaca: An Egyptian man accused of hijacking a passenger plane and diverting it to Cyprus has told police he acted because he wanted to see his estranged wife and children, saying “what should one do?”.
The suspect, whom Cypriot and Egyptian authorities have identified as Saif Al Deen Mustafa, 59, surrendered on Tuesday after commandeering a domestic Alexandria-Cairo flight with 70 passengers and crew on board.
A Larnaca court on Wednesday ordered him to be held in custody for eight days on suspicion of hijacking, abduction, threatening violence, terrorism-related offences and two counts related to possession of explosives.
The latter counts were connected to his claim of being strapped with explosives, even though the belt he wore is believed to be fake, a police source said.
As he left the court compound in a police jeep, Mustafa stuck his hand out of an open window flashing the ‘v’ sign for victory.
Mustafa took charge of the early morning flight by flashing what appears to be a belt stuffed with plastic wires and a remote control, directing it to the holiday island where he asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, and to come in contact with his Cypriot ex-wife.
“When someone hasn’t seen his family for 24 years and wants to see his wife and children, and the Egyptian government doesn’t allow it, what should one do?,” he told Cypriot police in a statement.
Details of his claimed predicament were not available.
All hostages were released unharmed after a six-hour standoff.
The suspect allegedly commandeered the aircraft 15 minutes after take-off from Alexandria. He approached a flight attendant and showed off the belt, attached to a remote control he held in his hand, investigating officer Andreas Lambrianou told the court.
“The suspect asked all passengers and crew to hand in their passports, then gave two messages to a member of the crew, asking that the pilot be informed that he was a hijacker and wanted to land at an airport in Turkey, Greece or Cyprus, but preferably Cyprus,” Lambrianou said.
The aircraft eventually landed in Larnaca after the pilots warned of low fuel, and despite an initial refusal from Cypriot authorities on the landing request.
Police prosecutor Andreas Lambrianou said witnesses saw the suspect wearing a white belt around his waist laden with cylindrical objects stuffed in pockets. Wire protruding from the cylinders led to what appeared to be a “push-button” detonator the suspect held in his hand.
The suspect had threatened to detonate the belt if police attempted to “neutralise” him, Lambrianou said, but he eventually gave up after the crew and passengers were released.
Lambrianou said no explosives were found in the belt, except for a container filled with an unidentified liquid. Police also found an unidentified liquid in the suspect’s bag as well as numerous documents written in Arabic.
The prosecutor said Cypriot authorities will ask the help of Interpol to determine how the suspect managed to pass the fake explosives belt through airport security in Egypt.
“In a note, he stressed that if the plane landed on Egyptian territory he would immediately blow the plane up.” In Cyprus, Mustafa dropped an envelope on the runway addressed to a Cypriot woman, later ascertained to be his ex-wife. In the letter, the suspect demanded the release of 63 female prisoners held in Egypt.
