Ship Hijacker Only 17; He’ll Be Retried in Juvenile Court
A six-year, seven-month prison sentence given to one of four Palestinian hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro will have to be annulled because it has been learned that he is only 17 years old, legal officials said today.
He will have to be retried on hijack-related weapons charges in a minors’ court, which handles cases involving people under 18, the officials said.
The hijacker was identified as Bassam Ashker. At the time he was arrested at the Sigonella NATO base in Sicily, investigators recorded his birth date as Feb. 9, 1966, but further investigation proved that he was born Feb. 9, 1968.
Ashker was one of five Palestinians convicted of smuggling and possessing weapons after a seven-hour trial Monday and sentenced to prison terms of four to nine years.
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