WASHINGTON (Islam Online) - The 13 men aged between 18 and 36 accused of hijacking an aircraft from Afghanistan to London on Feb. 6 remained in British custody. All were charged with seizing the aircraft. Eleven of the men will wait until March 13 to appear in court while two others will reappear in court Feb. 23.
The accused men, dressed in prison-issue tracksuits, spoke through interpreters only to confirm their first names, and were represented during the one-hour long hearing by a total of nine British layers, whose pleas to prevent the publication of the men's identities was rejected. Twelve of the defenders spoke Farsi and one Pushtu. Several of the men spoke a little English.
A 41-year-old man was arrested in connection with the hijacking. He was taken from the refugee-holding center at Morton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, on Sunday for questioning about his involvement in the incident. Six men had been released without charge and had joined other hostages seeking asylum at Morton in Marsh.
Nine others arrested will not face charges. Initially only 17 of the former hostages were to stay but after talking with British immigration officers more decided to leave for home. They all have signed forms stating how happy they were to return to Afghanistan.
The former hostages have been talking about their ordeal following their return home. Some of the 73 passengers who returned to Afghanistan reported being repeatedly threatened, hit and badly beaten.
They denounced the hijackers, charging some of the passengers had been friends and relatives involved in a plot to claim political asylum in the west.
The hostages were welcomed home warmly as heroes when the flight touched down in Kandahar, the southern city of Afghanistan. They later flew from Kandahar to Kabul, the capital, to be reunited with friends and families. The U.N. is paying for the transportation back to their towns and villages.
Jubilation engulfed the airport, with gifts of copies of the Quran, flowers, turbans and embroidery, and a hot meal provided inside the airport building. Taleban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil was on the airport tarmac at Kandahar to greet the returnees.
The former hostages' heads and hands were tied together and they bitterly complained how badly there were treated by their captors.
Not all the passengers were tempted to seek political asylum in the United Kingdom, as the majority of freed hostages had done. Returnees included eight women accompanied by their children.
"I am very happy to return to Afghanistan and my home. I have never wanted to stay in another country," said crewmember Torailaai Alami.
