Achille Lauro hijacking
Encyclopedia
On October 7, 1985, four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front
(PLF) hijacked the Italian
MS Achille Lauro
liner off Egypt
as she was sailing from Alexandria
to Port Said
. Muhammad Zaidan, leader of the PLF, masterminded the hijacking. One elderly Jewish man, the wheelchair bound Leon Klinghoffer
, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard.
and military
targets in the north of Israel
, across the Lebanese border.
, and demanded the release of 50 Palestinians then in Israeli prisons.
, a Jewish retired businessman who was in a wheelchair
, for murder, shooting him in the forehead and chest as he sat in his wheelchair. They then forced the ship's barber and a waiter to throw his body and wheelchair overboard. Marilyn Klinghoffer, who did not witness the shooting, was told by the hijackers that he had been moved to the infirmary. She only learned the truth after the hijackers left the ship at Port Said. PLO Foreign Secretary Farouq Qaddumi said that perhaps the terminally ill Marilyn Klinghoffer had killed her husband for insurance money; however, the PLO later accepted responsibility, apologized, and reached a financial settlement with the Klinghoffer family.
aboard an Egyptian commercial airliner.
United States
President
Ronald Reagan
deployed the Navy's SEAL Team Six
and Delta Force
to stand-by and prepare for a possible rescue attempt to free the vessel from its hijackers.
Reagan ordered that the plane be intercepted by F-14 Tomcat
s from the VF-74
"BeDevilers" and the VF-103 "Sluggers" of Carrier Air Wing 17, based on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga
, on October 10 and directed to land at Naval Air Station Sigonella
, a NATO base in Sicily
, where the hijackers were arrested by the Italians
after a disagreement between American and Italian authorities. The other passengers on the plane (including the hijackers' leader, Abu Abbas
) were allowed to continue on to their destination, despite protests by the United States. Egypt demanded an apology from the U.S. for forcing the airplane off course.
claimed Italian territorial rights over the NATO base. Italian Air Force
personnel and Carabinieri
lined up facing the United States Navy SEALs
which had arrived with two C-141s. Other Carabinieri were sent from Catania
to reinforce the Italians. It was the gravest diplomatic crisis between Italy and United States and was resolved five hours later.
, Yugoslavia
. Despite American requests for the extradition of Zaidan from Yugoslavia, he was not extradited due to Yugoslav relations with the PLO. Zaidan then flew to Aden
, South Yemen and from there to Baghdad
where Saddam Hussein
sheltered him from extradition
to Italy. He remained in Iraq
and commanded the P.L.F. (reunited in 1989) until the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Italy
, whose government had previously let Abu Abbas leave the country without being arrested, sentenced Zaidan in absentia to five terms of life imprisonment for his role in the hijacking. He was also wanted in the U.S. for crimes including terrorism
, piracy
, and murder
. In 1996, he made an apology for the Achille Lauro hijacking and murder of Leon Klinghoffer and advocated peace talks between Palestinians and Israel; the apology was rejected by the U.S. government and Klinghoffer's family. Abbas was captured in Iraq
in 2003 by the U.S. military during its 2003 invasion of Iraq
. He died in U.S. custody March 8, 2004.
The fate of those convicted of the hijacking is varied:
for its role in the death of Leon Klinghoffer. The $1.5 billion suit was dropped when the PLO paid an undisclosed sum to Klinghoffer's daughters. The family founded the Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer Memorial Foundation in cooperation with the Anti-Defamation League
.
Palestine Liberation Front
The Palestine Liberation Front is a Palestinian militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Canada, the European Union and the USA. It is presently led by Dr. Wasel Abu Yousef.-Origins:...
(PLF) hijacked the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
MS Achille Lauro
MS Achille Lauro
MS Achille Lauro was a cruise ship based in Naples, Italy. Built between 1939 and 1947 as MS Willem Ruys, a passenger liner for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. It is most remembered for its 1985 hijacking...
liner off Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
as she was sailing from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
. Muhammad Zaidan, leader of the PLF, masterminded the hijacking. One elderly Jewish man, the wheelchair bound Leon Klinghoffer
Leon Klinghoffer
Leon Klinghoffer was a disabled American appliance manufacturer who was murdered and thrown overboard by Palestinian terrorists in the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.-Hijacking and murder:...
, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard.
Background
Throughout the 1980s, the PLF launched attacks on both civilianCivilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
targets in the north of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, across the Lebanese border.
Hijacking
On October 7, 1985, four PLF militants men hijacked the Achille Lauro liner off Egypt. The hijackers had been surprised by a crew member and acted prematurely. Holding the passengers and crew hostage, they directed the vessel to sail to Tartus, SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and demanded the release of 50 Palestinians then in Israeli prisons.
Murder of Leon Klinghoffer
The next day, after being refused permission by the Syrian government to dock at Tartus, the hijackers singled out Leon KlinghofferLeon Klinghoffer
Leon Klinghoffer was a disabled American appliance manufacturer who was murdered and thrown overboard by Palestinian terrorists in the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.-Hijacking and murder:...
, a Jewish retired businessman who was in a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
, for murder, shooting him in the forehead and chest as he sat in his wheelchair. They then forced the ship's barber and a waiter to throw his body and wheelchair overboard. Marilyn Klinghoffer, who did not witness the shooting, was told by the hijackers that he had been moved to the infirmary. She only learned the truth after the hijackers left the ship at Port Said. PLO Foreign Secretary Farouq Qaddumi said that perhaps the terminally ill Marilyn Klinghoffer had killed her husband for insurance money; however, the PLO later accepted responsibility, apologized, and reached a financial settlement with the Klinghoffer family.
Aftermath
The ship headed back towards Port Said, and after two days of negotiations, the hijackers agreed to abandon the liner in exchange for safe conduct and were flown towards TunisiaTunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
aboard an Egyptian commercial airliner.
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
deployed the Navy's SEAL Team Six
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group
The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group , commonly known as DEVGRU and informally by its former name SEAL Team Six , is one of the United States' four secretive counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units .The vast majority of information about DEVGRU is highly classified, and...
and Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
to stand-by and prepare for a possible rescue attempt to free the vessel from its hijackers.
Reagan ordered that the plane be intercepted by F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
s from the VF-74
VF-74
VF-74, Fighter Squadron 74, Be-Devilers was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1944 to 1994.-History:VF-74 was established on 16 April 1945 as VBF-20 flying the F4U-1 Corsair from NAS Wildwood in New Jersey. After six months they transitioned to the F6F Hellcat but soon...
"BeDevilers" and the VF-103 "Sluggers" of Carrier Air Wing 17, based on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga
USS Saratoga (CV-60)
USS Saratoga , was one of four Forrestal- class supercarriers built for the US Navy in the 1950s. Saratoga was the sixth US Navy ship, and the second aircraft carrier, to be named for the Battle of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War.Commissioned in 1956, she spent most of her career in...
, on October 10 and directed to land at Naval Air Station Sigonella
Naval Air Station Sigonella
Naval Air Station Sigonella , "The Hub of the Med", is a U.S. Navy installation at NATO Base Sigonella and an Italian Air Force base in Sicily, Italy. Although a tenant of the Italian Air Force, NAS Sigonella acts as landlord to more than 40 other U.S. commands and activities. It is located west...
, a NATO base in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, where the hijackers were arrested by the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after a disagreement between American and Italian authorities. The other passengers on the plane (including the hijackers' leader, Abu Abbas
Abu Abbas
Muhammad Zaidan also known as Abū ‘Abbās or Muhammad ‘Abbās, was the founder and leader of paramilitary group the Palestine Liberation Front .- Political background :...
) were allowed to continue on to their destination, despite protests by the United States. Egypt demanded an apology from the U.S. for forcing the airplane off course.
Disagreement between Italy and U.S.
Italian Prime Minister Bettino CraxiBettino Craxi
Benedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
claimed Italian territorial rights over the NATO base. Italian Air Force
Italian Air Force
The Italian Air Force has gone under different names in different periods:*Regia Aeronautica , from 1923 to June 1946*Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, the air force of Italian Social Republic during World War II...
personnel and Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
lined up facing the United States Navy SEALs
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
which had arrived with two C-141s. Other Carabinieri were sent from Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
to reinforce the Italians. It was the gravest diplomatic crisis between Italy and United States and was resolved five hours later.
Hijackers
PLF leader Muhammad Zaidan (Abu Abbas) and PLO political officer Hassan were among the hijackers. Due to insider deals within the Italian government, they were both flown from Sigonella to Fuciamo airport (An auxiliary field next to Rome's main international airport, Leonardo da Vinci Airport). From there, dressed in Italian air force officers' flight suits, they boarded a Yugoslav civilian airliner destined to BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Despite American requests for the extradition of Zaidan from Yugoslavia, he was not extradited due to Yugoslav relations with the PLO. Zaidan then flew to Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, South Yemen and from there to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
where Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
sheltered him from extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to Italy. He remained in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and commanded the P.L.F. (reunited in 1989) until the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, whose government had previously let Abu Abbas leave the country without being arrested, sentenced Zaidan in absentia to five terms of life imprisonment for his role in the hijacking. He was also wanted in the U.S. for crimes including terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. In 1996, he made an apology for the Achille Lauro hijacking and murder of Leon Klinghoffer and advocated peace talks between Palestinians and Israel; the apology was rejected by the U.S. government and Klinghoffer's family. Abbas was captured in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 2003 by the U.S. military during its 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. He died in U.S. custody March 8, 2004.
The fate of those convicted of the hijacking is varied:
- Bassam al-Asker was granted paroleParoleParole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
in 1991. He was thought to have died on February 21, 2004, but according to the Lebanese Daily Star, in 2007 he was found in LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, a Fatah (PLO) fighter and commander, training Palestinian militiamen to fight the US army alongside Iraqi rebels, and loyal to Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Maazen)Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
the head of the Palestinian Authority. He reached Lebanon after 14 years in Iraq, where he personally fought against American soldiers, alongside his trainees. - Ahmad Marrouf al-Assadi disappeared in 1991 while on parole, but in 1994 was known to Spanish authorities, during the trial of Monzer el-Kasser
- Youssef Majed al-Molqi, convicted of killing Leon KlinghofferLeon KlinghofferLeon Klinghoffer was a disabled American appliance manufacturer who was murdered and thrown overboard by Palestinian terrorists in the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.-Hijacking and murder:...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ITALY_PALESTINIAN_HIJACKER?SITE=CALAK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT, was sentenced to 30 years, left the Rebibbia prison in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on February 16, 1996, on a 12-day furloughFurloughIn the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
, and fled to SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he was recaptured and extraditedExtraditionExtradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
back to Italy. On April 29, 2009, Italian officials released him from prison on good behaviour. In June 2009, however, al-Molqui's attorney told the Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that the Italian authorities had placed his client in a holding cell and were about to deport him to Syria. According to several sources, the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
was personally involved in al-Moliqui's release, although officially denied - Ibrahim Fatayer Abdelatif was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. He served 20 and three more on parole and on July 7, 2008, he was expelled from an illegal immigrant detention center in Rome. He plans to appeal this arguing that he has nowhere else to go since LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
will not allow his return as he was born in a refugee camp and is thus not a Lebanese citizen.
PLO lawsuit
The PLO was suedLawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
for its role in the death of Leon Klinghoffer. The $1.5 billion suit was dropped when the PLO paid an undisclosed sum to Klinghoffer's daughters. The family founded the Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer Memorial Foundation in cooperation with the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
.