Judge Favors Refugee Status for 9 Hijackers
Nine men who hijacked an airplane to Britain six years ago to flee Afghanistan’s then-ruling Taliban should be granted refugee status, a British judge ruled.
The British government argued that hijackers should never be rewarded and said it might appeal.
The men were jailed in Britain for the bloodless hijacking of an Afghan Boeing 727 in February 2000. They said they were members of an anti-Taliban group and feared for their lives.
They were released after the convictions were thrown out but not given refugee status.
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