EgyptAir hijack: Cyprus court order suspect remanded

 

Image copyright EPA

Image caption The alleged hijacker demanded to see his ex-wife as soon as the plane landed in Cyprus

An Egyptian man accused of hijacking and forcing a plane to land in Cyprus on Tuesday using a fake suicide belt has appeared in court in Cyprus.

The Larnaca court ordered an eight-day detention for Seif Eldin Mustafa.
Possible charges include air piracy, kidnapping and threatening behaviour.
He did not speak, but gave a victory sign as he was driven away by police. Cypriot authorities have described him as "psychologically unstable", saying the incident was not terrorism-related.
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How the hijacking unfolded
EgyptAir flight MS181 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six crew and a security official, when it was diverted to Cyprus.

Media captionEgyptAir Flight MS181 hijacking suspect passes through airport security

During a stand-off lasting more than six hours, almost all passengers and crew were freed unharmed as authorities negotiated with Mr Mustafa.

One person, apparently a crew member, climbed out of a cockpit window, minutes before the suspect walked calmly out of the plane to surrender.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said Mr Mustafa had initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who was brought to the airport by police, before making a series of "incoherent" demands.

President Nicos Anastasiades had responded to a reporter's question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, by laughing and saying: "Always there is a woman involved."
A photograph showing a British man posing with the hijacker inside the plane has been widely circulated. Ben Innes told the Sun newspaper he was trying to get a better look at Mr Mustafa's belt.
A statement from Egypt's civil aviation ministry said 26 foreign passengers were on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch citizens, two Belgians, two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian.

Media captionA man was seen fleeing from a cockpit window shortly before the hijacker surrendered

Egyptian authorities said security measures had been "fully implemented" before the flight.
CCTV footage released by the interior ministry shows Mr Mustafa being frisked at two security checks and passing a slim bag through X-ray machines at Alexandria's Borg El Arab airport.
The BBC's Youssef Taha says Egypt has taken steps to improve airport security after Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 was blown up over Sinai last October.

Media captionCrew members and passengers who were on the hijacked plane have arrived back in Cairo

They include an extra $1bn (£690m) a year and a deal with British consultancy Control Risks to review procedures at Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh and Marsa Alam airports.
Despite this, our correspondent says checks remain inconsistent, with many VIPs and MPs refusing to be searched and airport and airline staff routinely bypassing full security screening.            

Cyprus court orders detention of Egypt Air hijacker

A Cyprus court has ordered the detention for eight days of an Egyptian man who admitted hijacking a domestic EgyptAir flight and diverting it to the Mediterranean island by threatening to blow it up with a fake explosives belt.

Police told the court in Larnaca that Seif Eldin Mustafa faced possible charges of hijacking, kidnapping people with the aim of taking them to an unknown destination, reckless and threatening behaviour and offences that breach the anti-terror law.

The accused did not speak in court, but as he left the courthouse in a police car, he gave the victory sign to journalists. The court is less than a half a mile from Larnaca airport, where the hijacking unfolded on Tuesday.

Mustafa, who has a Cypriot ex-wife, will not face any formal charges until a later hearing and only at that point will he be expected to enter a plea.

Cyprus authorities have described Mustafa as “psychologically unstable” and said the case was not “terrorism-related”.

He is accused of forcing the plane to divert to Larnaca airport on the island’s south coast on Tuesday by threatening to detonate an explosives belt that turned out to be fake.
Authorities allege that his motives were personal and related to his Cypriot ex-wife with whom he is reported to have had children.

The hijacking triggered a six-hour standoff at the airport and the closure of the main entry point to Cyprus for tourists.

Most of the 55 passengers on the plane – originally travelling from Alexandria to Cairo – were quickly released after it had landed.

But some escaped only minutes before the standoff ended, including one uniformed man who was seen clambering out of a cockpit window and dropping to the ground.

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