Hijack Suspect Says Brutality Made Him Flee
From Times Staff Reports
A man accused of hijacking a passenger plane from Afghanistan to London says he fled the country after experiencing the brutality of the Taliban regime.
Ali Safi, 38, told jurors at the Old Bailey that he witnessed massacres and public executions after the Taliban took control of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998.
Safi and 10 other men are on trial on hijacking and arms and explosives charges.
They are accused of seizing an Ariana Airlines Boeing 727 carrying more than 180 people in February 2000.
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