Hijack jet crew 'tortured by Taleban'

The hijacked plane went to Moscow before Britain

Crew members of an Afghan airliner which was hijacked and flown to Britain were tortured by the Taleban on their return home, an Old Bailey jury heard on Friday.

One steward said he was forced to fly back to the UK because he feared for his safety following the hijack, which involved a two-day stand-off at Stansted airport in February 2000.

The man was giving evidence at the trial of a group of Afghans accused of hijack and firearms offences involving the Ariana internal flight, which was taken over by armed men.

The steward told the court some of the crew members were accused by the Taleban of co-operating with the hijackers.

Some of the men arrested by police claimed they were members of an intellectual group who had to leave the country because they were being victimised by the Taleban.

They all deny the charges against them.

'Kicked and beaten'

The steward, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he returned to Afghanistan after being told that a member of each of the crew's families had been detained by the Taleban.

He told the court they were initially welcomed back, but then he and his family began receiving threatening phone calls.

The plane had been on an internal flight

The Taleban took him in for questioning for 10 days, during which time he was beaten and kicked, he claimed.

The steward said he was told by the Taleban: "You had co-operated with the hijackers and you had helped smuggle the weapons."

He said his brother-in-law had been taken hostage by the Taleban on the first day of the hijack, was tortured and died the day after being released, a few months later.

He said the captain of the plane had also been arrested on his return, and was kept in prison and tortured for two-and-a-half months.

Firearms

The trial is expected to last up to two months and the defendants, who have the use of seven interpreters, are being represented by 19 barristers.

Nine of the defendants face charges of hijack, possessing firearms, possessing explosives, false imprisonment of passengers and false imprisonment of the cabin crew.

The accused are Ali Safi, 35, Abdul Shohab, 21, Taimur Shah, 29, Kazim Mohammed, 28, Reshad Ahmadi, 19, Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 28, Abdul Ghayur, 25, Mohammed Showaib, 26 and Mohammed Safi, 33.

A 10th defendant, Waheed Lutfi, 23, faces trial on all the charges except for hijack.

Three-day ordeal

The internal flight from the Afghan capital Kabul, carrying 164 passengers and crew, was taken over by armed men shortly after take-off.

What should have been a 40-minute flight turned into a three-day hijack - two days of which was spent on the ground at Stansted airport.

The plane landed in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Kazakstan and Moscow, before heading for Britain.

The trial was adjourned until Monday.