NATION : Lebanese Guilty in Hijacking
A U.S. District Court jury today convicted Fawaz Younis of leading a band of armed hijackers aboard a Jordanian airliner in Beirut in June, 1985, and holding 70 passengers and crew hostage for 30 hours.
The jury found Younis, a Lebanese national, guilty on three counts in the six-count indictment, and acquitted him on the remaining three. Younis faces life imprisonment for the most serious charge, taking hostages.
The verdict was viewed as an affirmation of a 1984 law asserting U.S. jurisdiction over the taking of American hostages abroad. Two Americans were aboard the airplane. No one was killed.
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