Kerim
Chatty remains under investigation over the August 29 incident, in
which he was arrested at Vaesteraas airport as he checked in for a
flight with a loaded handgun found in his toiletry bag.
Prosecutor
Thomas Haeggstroem dismissed reports that Chatty, born in Sweden to a
Tunisian father and Swedish mother, planned to crash the Ryanair plane
into a U.S. Embassy in Europe, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"In
recent days suspicions against Kerim Chatty have weakened," he
said after ordering Chatty's release. The 29-year-old, held for four
weeks, has not been charged.
"There
is nothing in the investigation that indicates that Chatty planned to
crash the plane into a target in Sweden or any other country," he
said.
"This
decision does not mean that the suspicions concerning preparation of a
hijacking have been written off. Efforts to investigate that suspicion
are continuing," Haeggstroem said.
Chatty
was slapped with a travel restriction that bars him from leaving
Stockholm for a month, and was ordered to report regularly to police.
He was freed immediately after the release order was issued, reported
BBC News Online.
Chatty
is also accused of two counts of illegal possession of a weapon.
He
admitted that he was carrying a handgun when he was arrested, but
denied that he planned to hijack the Boeing 737.
His
lawyer, Nils Uggla, said he was optimistic that his client would
eventually be cleared of the hijacking suspicion.
"In
the end it will be a weapons charge and nothing more. That is my firm
conviction," news agency TT quoted Uggla as saying after Chatty's
release.
The
motive for the alleged hijacking remains unclear.
Chatty's
arrest caused a media frenzy, coming shortly before the first
anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States. His
devotion to his faith, Islam, and his attending pilot school in the
United States fuelled the frenzied suspicion that he was part of an
alleged terror network.
Chatty
also reportedly spent time in Pembroke Pines, Florida, where the
alleged lead hijacker of the September 11 attacks, Mohammed Atta,
lived.
Prosecutors
have for the past month been trying to determine whether Chatty has
any ties to terrorist organizations.
