Court approves return of hijacked aeroplane to Libya

The courts have approved a request by Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways to return to it the aeroplane that was hijacked and flown to Malta last month.

The decision was made in a ruling this afternoon by magistrate Antony Vella and announced in a government statement.

It said that magistrate Doreen Clarke this afternoon formally presented the results of her inquiry into the hijack to the courts. This includes evidence taken from the plane, including two black boxes, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. They will be kept in Malta for the duration of the case.

Saleh, 28, and Moussa Shah Soko, 27 – both from the southern Libyan city of Sebha – have been arraigned and charged with hijacking the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on 23 December, and with committing acts of terrorism. They have also been charged with being in possession of replica weapons, using violence against one of the people on board, holding people against their will, threatening the passengers, endangering the safety of the aircraft, and attempting to cause financial or economic instability to the government. They have both pleaded not guilty and are being detained at the Corradino prisons.