Makhmour tried to hijack a Russian plane in Afghanistan for unknown reasons

Makhmour tried to hijack a Russian plane in Afghanistan for unknown reasons

He can spend 20 years in prison after being arrested by security

Moscow: Taha Abdel Wahed

Areas of armed conflict are no longer a favorite place for terrorists and extremists. They are joined by criminals belonging to other groups, such as "a psychologist suffering from a mental illness and a former victim of the destruction of public property". This is demonstrated by the attempt to hijack a Russian plane yesterday. The hijacking began at noon, as Russian news agencies announced the hijacking of a Boeing flight from Surgut town in Siberia to Chermitova airport in Moscow. Ground observation stations received a message from the pilot indicating the attempted abduction and, in response to an agreed question in such cases, the pilot responded, confirming his initial communication. It later became apparent that the hijacker had attempted to storm the cockpit under threat, claiming that he had a weapon in his possession but that he was unable to do it.
Under threat, the crew requested that the flight be diverted to Afghanistan. The plane was carrying 69 passengers, including a baby, as well as 7 members (crew). During negotiations with the hijacker, the crew managed to convince him to stop over, under the pretext of refueling the fuel needed to make the flight to the airport. ; Afghanistan. The plane landed 40 minutes later at Khanti-Mansysk Airport in Siberia and stopped in a relatively isolated location. In the meantime, strict security measures were adopted at the airport and security forces surrounded the aircraft until security personnel were able to board the aircraft. They then arrested the abductor. It turned out that he was a citizen of the city of Sorogut, named Pavel Shapovalov, 41 years old. He was drunk at the time of his arrest. Security sources told the Russian media that the man was suffering from a psychiatric illness.
The National Counter-Terrorism Committee congratulated the crew on handling the incident, in particular their landing at the airport, which would avoid losses in severe cases. The Russian Federal Investigation Commission said that the man who had tried to hijack the plane had precedents and confirmed that security had stopped him and that all the passengers were safe. A criminal case was opened in the case of the hijacking of an airliner under the threat of violence. The law punishes such a crime from 7 to 20 years.
It is unclear what prompted the accused to do this job. Although the attempt to hijack the aircraft did not assume the character of a "terrorist act", it is the first such incident in Siberia since 2000, with the difference that what was then a terrorist act was hijacked by a group of Chechen shooters. Mahj al-Qalaa airport in Dagestan bound for Moscow, and demanded that the pilot of the plane, at gunpoint, head for Tel Aviv. After the plane landed at a military airport, the gunmen surrendered to the Israeli authorities. In 2001, gunmen hijacked an aircraft belonging to the company (Vnokova air transport), coming from Istanbul, where a raid on the plane had killed one of the pirates of the city. air and the hostess of the aircraft crew. In the Soviet era, Russia was the scene of a large number of hijackings. From 1954 to 1991, there were 110, including 24 operations. For many people wishing to travel abroad, such operations were governed by the laws in force limiting travel by citizens.