Trial of 5 in Ship Hijacking to Begin Monday in Italy

An Italian magistrate said today that the four men who hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro and a fifth man would stand trial Monday on initial charges of possession of weapons and explosives.

Deputy State Prosecutor Francesco Meloni told reporters that the summary trial against the four Palestinians and a fifth man arrested here five days before the liner set sail on its ill-fated voyage would probably last only one day.

The men are accused of possessing four Kalashnikov assault rifles, eight hand grenades and nine detonators. If convicted on the arms charges, they face sentences ranging from three to 12 years in prison.

Trial is expected at a later date on charges of hijacking, acts of terrorism and the murder of an American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer.

A charge sheet handed out by Public Prosecutor Luigi Carli named the men as Majed Youssef Al-Molqi, 23, born in Jordan; Ahmed Marrouf Al-Assadi, 23, born in Syria; Ibrahim Fatayer Abdel-Latif, 20, and Bassam Al-Ashker, 19, both born in Lebanon.

Carli said doubts remained over the identity of the fifth man, believed to be Mohammed Kalaf, who was arrested Sept. 28, five days before the Lauro sailed from Genoa, after frontier police suspected that he was holding a stolen Moroccan passport. Judicial sources said Kalaf was suspected of having smuggled the weapons into Italy.

Carli said, “I am counting on eight witnesses appearing in court.” He said all eight would be Italian but declined to identify them.

He said the prosecution will present photographs of the weapons and explosives as evidence. These were seized by Egyptian authorities after the hijackers gave themselves up.

Meloni indirectly confirmed that a preliminary investigation, due to be concluded next week, would recommend that Palestinian leader Abul Abbas be tried for his alleged role in organizing the hijacking.