A Maltese court has sentenced Ali Ahmed Lano Saleh, a supporter of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in connection with the hijacking of an aircraft to Malta in 2016.
Saleh and another individual hijacked an Afriqiyah Airlines Airbus A320 en route from Libya to Malta on December 23, 2016.
Due to a lack of fuel, the hijackers diverted the plane to Malta instead of their intended destination, Rome.
Initially, the hijackers threatened to detonate explosives on the plane, but it was later discovered that their weapons were fake. All 109 passengers on board were safely released by the hijackers, though their demands remained unclear.
In 2020, Soko Moussa Shaha Ali, the mastermind behind the hijacking, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Saleh received a 10-year sentence, taking into consideration his guilty plea, the swift and unharmed release of the passengers, and his role as a subordinate to the hijack mastermind.
Christopher Scicluna reported on this development, with Crispian Balmer and Deborah Kyvrikosaios in charge of editing.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
