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TITLE: Hijackers Should be Punished According to Sharia, Say Chechen Separatists |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: Agence France Presse |
DATE: March 17, 2001 |
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Two men who hijacked a Russian plane to Saudi Arabia should be punished according to Islamic law, but not extradited to Russia, the press service of Chechen separatist President Aslan Maskhadov said Saturday. "Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country and the criminals must be punished according to Sharia law. Justice officials have to show that Saudi Arabia does not support terrorism," Maskhadov's press service told AFP. It added that it was against extraditing the two hijackers -- whom the Kremlin said are Chechen rebels -- to Moscow. The press service said Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for the hijacking because the "crimes Russian troops committed in Chechnya push Chechens to take such actions." Furthermore, it said the hijackers were merely "executors" of an operation mounted by the Russian security service FSB. A spokesman for Maskhadov on Friday denied that the rebels were behind the hijacking, saying they would never target innocent civilians. Three people died -- including one hijacker -- when Saudi forces stormed the plane Friday, which had been hijacked from Turkey to Saudi Arabia. END |