Hijackers of Libyan plane to face charges: Maltese police

Maltese Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said on Saturday the police were bound to charge in court the two men who hijacked a plane within 48 hours of their arrest.

The Police Commissioner said investigations were still ongoing and no date and time for the court appearance had been set, Xinhua reported.

Basically the law in Malta states that anyone arrested needs to be either charged within 48 hours or released.

Cutajar said it was too early to say if the two hijackers were linked to any terrorist groups.

The hijacking ended peacefully on Friday after the two men released 111 passengers and six crew following a four-hour standoff.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane was hijacked during an internal flight from Sebha to Tripoli by two men who threatened to blow it up.

It was diverted to Malta after the hijackers refused to land in Tripoli.

The two hijackers, named as Ahmed Ali and Mousa Shaha, were later found to be carrying replica pistols.

The Police Commissioner said that at no point did the two men make any demands.

The passengers of the hijacked flight returned to Libya Saturday.

--IANS

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