WORLD : Hijacker’s Return to China Near
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TOKYO — Tokyo’s High Court cleared the way today for the forcible return to China of a man who hijacked an aircraft to Japan and asked for political asylum.
The court decision ended a two-month legal battle in which the hijacker, Zhang Zhenhai, argued he deserved asylum because he played a prominent role in last year’s pro-democracy protests in China and would face execution if he was returned home. Zhang seized a Beijing-San Francisco flight of China’s national airline Dec. 16 and forced the plane to land at Fukuoka, in western Japan.
Justice Minister Shin Hasegawa has to make a final decision on the matter within 31 days.
The court decision was welcomed by the Chinese Embassy but denounced by Chinese dissident groups and the local chapter of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
Judge Mitsuo Funada ruled that Zhang cannot not be regarded as a genuine political offender and that there is no clear evidence he will face charges over the Tian An Men Square demonstrations.
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