Klinghoffer’s Killer Gets 30 Years; Daughters Irate : Five Other Hijackers Convicted

A jury today convicted six Palestinians of hijacking the Achille Lauro cruise ship and killing an American passenger, sentencing the man accused of pulling the trigger on wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer to 30 years in prison--a move his daughters called outrageous.

The prosecution had asked for a life term for accused triggerman Youssef Molki, 23, who, according to testimony, ordered a Portuguese waiter to wheel Klinghoffer out to the deck and later ordered him at gunpoint to dump Klinghoffer’s body and wheelchair into the Mediterranean.

Three of the six men convicted today, the alleged masterminds of the hijacking, were sentenced to life in prison, including Palestinian leader Abul Abbas. All three are fugitives.

After deliberating for three days under tight security, the panel of two judges and six civilians also convicted five other defendants of lesser charges in connection with the hijacking.

It acquitted four defendants for lack of evidence.

sh Slogans Shouted

Four of the five defendants in custody were present in court when Judge Lino Monteverde announced the verdict. They shouted, “Long live Palestine!” in Arabic from their steel-barred courtroom cages.

The Genoa-based luxury liner was hijacked Oct. 7-9 with 413 people aboard. Four Palestinians commandeered the vessel after it made a port call in Egypt; they demanded the release of 51 Palestinians jailed in Israel.

Klinghoffer, 69, of New York, was shot to death during the ordeal and his body was dumped overboard.

Klinghoffer’s daughters said they were angered by the verdict and sentences, particularly Molki’s.

“We had every hope that the Italian judicial system would impose the maximum penalty possible,” life imprisonment, Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer said at a New York news conference. “Sadly, we are greatly disillusioned and disappointed.”

The jury found three hijackers, Abbas and two other fugitive leaders of Abbas’ Palestine Liberation Front equally responsible for the hijacking, the taking of the ship’s passengers and crew members as hostages and the killing of Klinghoffer.

All Share Guilt

Under Italian law, planners as well as participants in any crime that results in a death are as guilty of the killing as the person who actually commits it. There was no separate charge of murdering Klinghoffer, because a killing that occurs during a terrorist kidnaping is considered more serious under Italian law than other killings.

The actual hijackers were among the only five defendants in custody. Abbas and the two PLF officials were among 10 defendants tried in absentia.

Abbas’ two associates also sentenced to life in prison are Ozzuddin Badrakkan, 39, the PLF military leader, and Ziad Omar, 35, who was charged with buying the hijackers’ cruise tickets.

Ibrahim Abdellatif, 20, also accused of being one of the pirates, was sentenced to 24 years and two months.

Ahmed Assadi, 24, a hijacker who had cooperated with authorities, was sentenced to 15 years and two months. He was not present in court when the verdict was read.

The fourth man accused of the actual hijacking, Bassam Ashker, 18, will be tried later in juvenile court because he was 17 and a minor at the time of the hijacking.

The other two defendants in custody received lighter sentences.

Abbas’ cousin, Issa Abbas, a 24-year-old Syrian, was convicted of using false passports and sentenced to six months in prison.

Mowfak Gandura, a 37-year-old Syrian, was sentenced to eight months in prison for giving false testimony.