Afriqiyah hijacker offered 10-year plea deal in return for testimony against fellow hijacker

Attorney General insisting on minimum 10 year sentence in return for guilty plea by one of the accused together with his testimony against the other hijacker

The two men had hijacked the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on 23 December 2016
The two men had hijacked the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on 23 December 2016

Prosecutors are understood to be pushing for a 10-year-sentence in return for a guilty plea by one of the Libyan men accused of hijacking an Afriqiyah Airways flight and diverting it to Malta in 2016.

Shah Soko Moussa, 29, and Ali Ahmed Saleh, 30, both of Sebha, Libya, are charged with hijacking the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on 23 December 2016, together with a host of other charges related to terrorism.

The men had unsuccessfully tried to storm the locked cockpit of the aircraft, armed with replica weapons and had then threatened to blow up the plane. The aircraft had diverted to Malta with 111 passengers and six crew members on board after being seized in Libyan airspace.

Multiple sources involved in the proceedings have told the MaltaToday that a plea bargaining agreement is being negotiated, with the Attorney General insisting on a minimum 10 year sentence in return for a guilty plea by Saleh and in return for his testimony against Moussa.

In the last sitting, presiding judge Aaron Bugeja asked for an explanation as to how the proposed sentence had been arrived at.

Moussa was released on bail, secured by a €20,000 deposit and a personal guarantee of €50,000 in February, a court ruling that it was bound to release the accused once the maximum term of preventive arrest envisaged by law had run its course.

The case continues in October.

Lawyer George Anton Buttigieg is defence counsel to Moussa, lawyer Marc Sant is appearing for Saleh.

Lawyers Elaine Mercieca Rizzo and Charles Mercieca from the AG’s Office are prosecuting.