AN IMAGE HAS emerged of the Egyptian hijacker posing with one of his hostages after he forced a plane to land in Cyprus.
26-year-old British man Ben Innes was one of three passengers who was forced to stay on the plane after Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked it, claiming he was wearing a suicide belt. His claim was later revealed to be false and he was arrested.
Innes, who lives in Aberdeen, told The Sun he was not sure why he asked to have his photo taken with the hijacker.
“I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it,” he told the paper.
I got one of the cabin crew to translate for me and asked him if I could do a selfie with him. He just shrugged OK, so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap. It has to be the best selfie ever.
Having been up close to Mustafa, the British man said he suspected the device he was wearing was likely fake. His actions have been condemned by security officials, but praised by family and friends who say it is “totally in character” for him.
During his stand-off with police, the hijacker’s only demand was to see his estranged wife who lives in Cyprus. An Egyptian foreign ministry official described Mustafa as “an idiot”.
Terrorists are crazy but they aren’t stupid. This guy is.
The Egyptian man is due to appear in court in Cyprus later today.
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