Grand Jury Indicts Three in TWA Hijack, Meese Says

Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III said Thursday that a federal grand jury in Washington has indicted three men believed responsible for the hijacking of Trans World Airlines Flight 847 last summer.

Meese’s disclosure, in an address to a convention of airline security personnel, was the first public word on the outcome of the grand jury proceedings.

“Just recently, a federal grand jury in Washington returned indictments against all of the identified perpetrators in the TWA hijacking,” Meese said. “We will continue to pursue this case in every way possible. It’s not a dead letter, even though the culprits are not presently in custody.”

Indictments Confirmed

In Washington, Justice Department spokesman Patrick Korton confirmed that the indictments were issued but declined to say when. “I would leave it with his (Meese’s) characterization--recently,” he said.

Arrest warrants and criminal complaints against the hijackers were issued by a federal court in Washington on July 3, and the United States publicly identified the three suspects for the first time last month.

The three individuals, all charged with air piracy and murder, were identified in court documents as Mohammed Hamadei, Ali Atwa and Hasan Izz Din.

Korton refused to say whether the grand jury indictments also charged the three with air piracy and murder but said: “Clearly, we’d be looking in those areas.”

Militant Lebanese Shias commandeered the American airliner on June 14 after it took off from Athens, beginning a crisis that lasted nearly two weeks. During the seizure, Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem, a passenger, was beaten and then shot to death.

Meese said he is certain that the hijackers will be caught.

“We’re going to keep at it until we do. They can’t hide forever. If they do stay in countries that harbor terrorists, which they appear to be doing at the present time, they’re going to have a very limited terrorist career in the future.”

Meese was the keynote speaker at the convention of the International Assn. of Airline Security Officers here. Among those attending was TWA pilot John Testrake, captain of the hijacked flight.

Airport Security Changes

A number of changes in airport security have been made since the TWA hijacking in June, including more security and better checks on people who have access to aircraft and working with security officers to tighten up the security procedures at airports, Meese said.

Korton indicated that the grand jury in Washington was continuing its investigation of the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship last month.