Iraqi captors of Sudanese jet charged with hijack .
LONDON 1996-08-30
Seven Iraqis who seized a Sudanese airliner with 199 people aboard and forced it to fly to London were on Friday charged with hijack , ending speculation that they might be offered immediate asylum in Britain .
Police said the seven men , who freed all their hostages after the plane landed at Stansted airport on Tuesday and then appealed for asylum , would appear in court on Saturday .
The Iraqis claimed they were " ordinary people persecuted by the regime of Saddam ( Hussein ) " but interior ministry officials had consistently said it was likely the seven would be charged with hijack before any plea for asylum was considered .
Under English law the maximum sentence for hijack is life imprisonment , but there has been widespread speculation that the seven will receive lesser sentences and then be allowed to stay rather than being sent back to Iraq .
The hijack began on Monday when an Amman-bound plane was taken over shortly after it took off from Khartoum .
The hijackers threatened to blow it up during a refuelling stop in Cyprus unless they were taken to London .
After a search of the aircraft following the hijackers ' surrender , police found only knives and fake explosives .