Afghan hijackers freed on appeal
UK: Group of men held up aircraft out of necessity, court decides
Nine Afghan refugees who hijacked an aircraft as a means to escape their country were yesterday freed on appeal.
The incident, which took place in February 2000 and led to the UK’s longest-ever airport siege, involved some 156 hostages. The men claimed they had hijacked the flight because they had no choice but to flee or die at the hands of the brutal Taliban regime.
Originally they had been found guilty of hijacking, firearms offences and false imprisonment – but judges yesterday ruled the convictions unsafe because claims the group had acted under duress had been ruled out at the original trial. Seven of the men have already served their sentences and the other two, named as ringleaders, are expected to be free within days.
The group’s solicitor Imran Kahn said: “They are people who have a clean character; that is something they want the world to know and they did this out of necessity, not economic or other reasons.” Newspaper reports suggest the trial has cost some £30 million.
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