Trial of Hijacking Suspect Opens Today
Federal prosecutors open the trial today of an alleged Lebanese hijacker who was captured by the FBI on the high seas and brought to the United States in 1987.
Fawaz Younis, a former member of the Amal militia, is accused of leading the hijacking of a Royal Jordanian airliner from Beirut in June, 1985. The jet was blown up 30 hours later after all passengers, including four Americans, and crew members were released unhurt.
Younis was charged under a 1984 U.S. law that gives the United States the right to make arrests anywhere against terrorists who have hijacked Americans.
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