Germany release Lebanese hijacker, US vows to hunt him down

Germany release Lebanese hijacker, US vows to hunt him down
One Lebanese hijacker who has been released from a German jail after serving a sentence of 19 years will have to be on the run again. US has vowed it will not rest till they hunt down this hijacker.
The spokesman for the US State Department, Sean McCormack has said that the administration of President George Bush is upset because Germany has decided to free Mohammed Ali Haadi, now 41, who in1985 had been convicted for hijacking a Trans World Airlines plane.

On Thursday Hamadi was freed from a German Prison after the conclusion of a parole board that he had reached eligibility for early release.

The 19 years he served in presence as a part of a life sentence was on charges of possessing explosives, air piracy and murdering Robert Dean Stethem, who was a sailor and a passenger on board the TWA flight 847 between Athens and Rome.

The hijacking was organized by the Shiite Muslim group called Hezbollah. It was perhaps 1980s most publicized terrorist attack on any US target. Lasting for 17 days, the plane shuttled many airports of the Mediterranean with dozens of passengers taken hostage abroad.

The plane was finally taken to Beirut where the hijackers had killed Stethem, of Waldorf, Maryand. Of the 39 Americans who were held hostage, Stetmen became the only casualty. Hamadi was charged with federal murder charges by the US and after he was captured on January 13, 1987 in Frankfurt, was asked to be extradited from Germany. The Germans, had however, denied the request.

If convicted in the US, Hamadi could face death sentence. Ironically, when Hamadi was arrested Germany had no death penalty and had refused his handover.

"We were certainly disappointed at the time that we didn't get our hands on him then," McCormack is reported to have said, "and we are disappointed that he was released before the end of his full sentence.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes, but we will track them down and they will face justice," he said.

Meanwhile Hamadi is rumoured to have retured to Lebenon.