Kyiv to decide on extradition of Ukrainian who tried to hijack aircraft after Turkey charges him, says ministry
The issue of the possible extradition of a Ukrainian national arrested by the Turkish authorities for trying to divert a Kharkiv-Istanbul aircraft to Sochi on February 7 could be raised after Turkish law-enforcers bring charges against him, according to the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.
"Turkey's law enforcement agencies are currently holding an inquiry. I think we should wait for formal charges to be made, since he was detained on the territory of Turkey, and the aircraft belongs to a Turkish airline. So it is natural that the investigation is being carried out by Turkish law enforcement authorities," Director of the information policy department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Yevhen Perebyinis said at a briefing on Tuesday, when asked by Interfax-Ukraine if Kyiv would seek the trial of the Ukrainian in his homeland.
The Foreign Ministry's spokesman noted that the relevant criminal proceedings were opened in Ukraine, so the fate of the arrested Ukrainian will be decided later by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.
As reported, late on February 7 a Ukrainian citizen, in a state of alcoholic intoxication, attempted to force the crew of a Boeing-737-800 plane, en route from Kharkiv to Istanbul, to be flown to Sochi, where the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics was taking place.
The passenger said that he had a bomb. According to the Ukrainian Security Service, the man demanded that "the plane be diverted to Sochi, where, he said, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin meets with [Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych, whose hands are drenched in blood, and demanded that all hostages in Ukraine be released."
As a result, the plane, accompanied by fighters, managed to land in Istanbul, Turkey, where the security services detained the Ukrainian. The plane was carefully searched for the presence of explosive devices, but none were found.
The SBU's investigation department in Kharkiv region opened a pre-trial investigation into an attempt to hijack a plane.
Ukraine's Consulate General in Istanbul is working with the Turkish authorities and law enforcement agencies on this case.
The passenger's actions are criminally punishable both in Turkey and Ukraine.
