Sochi Hijack Attempt over Ukrainian Prisoners

A Ukrainian hijacker tried to divert a Turkey-bound Pegasus Airlines flight to Sochi on Friday on the day of the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony. The 45-year old man, identified by Turkish media as Artem Hozlov, told the crew he had placed a bomb on the plane. He apparently demanded that the Ukrainian government release detained anti-government protesters. (AP, 8 February)

The crew reportedly tricked the hijacker and landed the plane in Istanbul where he was subdued by security officers who sneaked on board.

As Professor Juan Cole has noted in his Informed Comment today, the hijacker, presumably an Eastern Orthodox Christian threatened to blow up an airplane full of innocent passengers. But the press reports, including the AP article used here, did not refer to him as “terrorist.” The plot was foiled by Turkish officers, presumably Muslims. But if the hijacker had been a Muslim, the press would likely have declared him a terrorist. And the press would have written extensively about the heroes who foiled the plot if the security officers were not Muslims.

Photo credit: The scene at Istanbul airport after security officers foiled a hijacking attemp of a Pegasus Airlines. (AP/Informed Comment) 

Iran Arrests Hijacker

Iranian air marshals aboard a Syria-bound Iran Air flight arrested a man for attempting to hijack the plane, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported today. An unspecified number of Iranian lawmakers were on the plane en route to a parliamentary conference in Damascus [IRIB, 27 November].

Iran’s semi-official Fars New Agency reported that the incident and the arrest happened minutes before the Iran Air flight landed in the Syrian capital. Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Nushabadi said the suspect admitted he was intending to hijack the Airbus plane. The suspect was unarmed.