Libyan plane hijackers charged with terrorism at Malta court

VALLETTA - The two Libyan plane hijackers appeared at a Maltese court on Sunday, charged with a string of offences including terrorism.

The two Libyan men, 28-year-old Ali Saleh and 27-year-old Moussa Soko, arrived at Malta Law Courts on Sunday noon, escorted by armed guards.

They were charged with hijacking the plane and holding the 109 passengers and 6 crew members against their will.

Both the hijackers calmly denied the charges in court. They did not file a request for bail.

On Friday, they hijacked the Libyan flight operated by Afriqiyah Airways, and diverted it to Malta International Airport.

The plane was flying a domestic route in Libya in the day, from the southern city of Sebha to its original destination of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

After a four-hour standoff at the Maltese airport, all passengers and crew were safely released.

The two hijackers surrendered peacefully. They were later found to have used replica weapons for the hijacking.