ITALY-SYRIA: AL MOLKY EXPULSION, “THEY ARE SENDING ME TO MY DEATH”
June 27, 2009: Maged Al Molky, the captain of the Palestinian commandos that hijacked the Achille Lauro in 1985 and killed an American citizen, was expelled from Italy and sent to Syria where he risks being sentenced to death.
The expulsion happened despite him having an appeal pending with the Justice of the Peace.
Al Molky, who married an Italian citizen, spent 23 years and eight months in jail in Italy, with a reduction from his thirty year sentence for good behaviour.
"They are sending me to my death," he said as he arrived at Fiumicino airport, escorted by two policemen, Telenews agency reported. His lawyer, Granfranco Pagano, explained that it is likely that Al Molky will be sentenced to death.
Matteo Mecacci, Radical deputy and member of the External Affairs Commission, and Hands Off Cain secretary Sergio D’Elia made an urgent appeal to the Italian Government to delay the expulsion. The appeal, however, was not heard.
Mecacci announced that he will present an urgent request to the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Internal Affairs Minister.
“The Foreign Affairs Minister and the Internal Affairs Minister must clarify to the parliament, as quickly as possible, on what judicial and political basis Italy carried out Al Molky’s expulsion to Syria. He had an appeal against the expulsion pending with the Justice of the Peace and based on statements from his lawyers he risks the death penalty in Syria,” Mecacci said.
“This hastened expulsion is even more perplexing if one thinks that in the last few days Italy agreed with the United States to receive Guantanamo prison detainees, because of the risk that they could be tortured or killed in their country of origin.” (Sources: AGI, 27/06/2009; radicali.it, 29/06/2009)
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