Italian Court Eases Terms of Ship Hijackers

An appeals court today upheld convictions on arms charges of four Palestinians accused in the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro but overturned the conviction of a fifth and reduced some sentences by up to two years.

The court set aside the conviction of Bassam al Ashker on the ground that he was 17 and thus a minor at the time of the hijacking. For the same reason, al Ashker will not be a defendant in a scheduled trial on more serious charges.

The court ordered that al Ashker, now 18, who had been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison by a lower court, be retried in a juvenile court.

Al Ashker and the four others had been found guilty of illegal possession of arms and explosives and sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to nine years after a one-day trial last Nov. 18. The five included the four alleged hijackers of the cruise liner and a purported accomplice.

The appeals court, without comment, reduced the sentences for three defendants by up to two years.

Fourteen Arabs, including the four whose convictions were upheld today, face trial on June 18 for the more serious charges of kidnaping and murder as well as other terrorist crimes connected with the seizure of the Italian ship on Oct. 7 during a Mediterranean cruise.

A 69-year-old wheelchair-bound New Yorker, Leon Klinghoffer, was shot and killed during the hijacking.