Soviets Call for Death Sentence for Palestinian Ship Hijackers

The Soviet Union, supporting President Reagan’s policy of swift retribution against terrorists, today called for the death sentence for four Palestinian ship hijackers who killed an American hostage.

But the official Tass press agency said the principle must be applied uniformly and called for the extradition of two Soviets living in New York who killed a stewardess while hijacking an airliner to Turkey in 1970.

“There can be no good terrorists and bad terrorists,” Tass said.

Tass did not specifically mention the interception by U.S. warplanes of an Egyptian airliner carrying the four Palestinian hijackers of the Italian luxury cruise ship Achille Lauro, referring instead to the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, 69, during the ordeal.

“The Americans’ anger at the hijackers’ crime aboard a cruise liner is understandable and just,” Tass said.

“The crimes of terrorists, no matter where they are committed, must be punished most severely,” it said. “And such severity must be shown unfailingly to all perpetrators of such crimes.”

Moscow, which is trying to free three of its Soviet Embassy diplomats taken hostage in Beirut 12 days ago, said, “The principles of international relations demand a uniform attitude to those who with malicious intent threaten or take away the lives of citizens of any country.”

The report did not mention the three Soviet hostages. Instead, it mentioned the Soviet father and son who hijacked a commercial Aeroflot flight to Turkey 15 years ago.

A stewardess was killed and two crew members were seriously injured.

A Turkish court sentenced Pranas Brazinskas to eight years and his son, Algirdas, to two years in prison, but they were released during a general amnesty in 1974. They were refused political asylum in the United States but have lived in New York, without entry visas, since 1976.