By Rykesha Hudson.
ETHIOPIAN Airlines pilot has been convicted in absentia of hijacking his own plane and flying it to Geneva, Switzerland, 13 months after he surrendered to police there to seek asylum.
The high court in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa issued its ruling on Monday (Mar 16) and said it would sentence Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn on Friday (Mar 20).
If he ever returns to his home country he could face up to 20 years in jail.
Tegegn, second-in-command on the February 17, 2014, flight to Rome, Italy, took control of the aircraft when the main pilot left the cockpit for a toilet break, Swiss police said.
He then sent a coded signal announcing he had hijacked the plane.
With the jet on the tarmac, an unarmed pilot scrambled down an emergency rope and surrendered to police without harming the 193 passengers – 139 Italians, 11 Americans and four French – on board the Boeing aircraft.
Swiss police have said Tegegn asked for asylum because he did not feel safe in Ethiopia.
Opposition politicians and rights campaigners often accuse the government of stifling dissent, a charge dismissed by the government, according to Reuters.
Authorities say there have been growing numbers of people from north and east Africa travelling to Europe to flee poverty and conflicts – though Tegegn left behind a well-paid job on the flagship airline in one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
Ethiopian officials said at the time Addis Ababa may ask for the fleeing pilot’s extradition.
Comments
About Author
