Cyprus extradites Egyptian hijacker who dropped legal fight

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police say an Egyptian man who in 2016 hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight and ordered it to land on the east Mediterranean island has been extradited to his homeland.

Police said Sunday that Seif Eddin Mustafa boarded an EgyptAir flight that took off for Egypt on Saturday evening.

Cyprus Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou told The Associated Press that Mustafa's extradition went ahead after he dropped a three-year legal fight to avoid his extradition.

Doros Polycarpou, with the migrant support group KISA that assisted Mustafa, told the AP the 62-year-old decided of his own accord to return to Egypt and face prosecution there, despite fears that he may be tortured.

Last year, the European Court of Human Rights blocked Cyprus from extraditing Mustafa until it could examine the case.

See Also:

• Fans injured in storm at Backstreet Boys Oklahoma concert

• Police say Long Island couple dead in murder-suicide

• Strong, deep undersea quake shakes Fiji; no damage expected