U.S. releases Muslim who planted bomb on '82 Pan Am flight killing boy

 

New post on Creeping Sharia   U.S. releases Muslim who planted bomb on ’82 Pan Am flight killing boy by creeping “To tell you the truth, I never figured he’d be released,” A good week for jihadists in the U.S. First, news that the U.S. government refuses to deport a Syrian terrorist linked to the 9/11 attacks, now this via ’82 Pan Am bomber who killed boy freed – The Japan Times. NEW YORK – Mohammed Rashed, who placed a bomb that damaged a Pan Am jet over the Pacific in 1982, killing a Japanese high schooler, was released from federal prison Wednesday, a U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman said. “He was released early this morning,” Chris Burke said, adding that Rashed, 63, was being held at a facility in Pennsylvania. Rashed’s release was in exchange for information on other terrorist plots under an agreement that will also deport him to a country of his choice, AP said. It has not been disclosed which country he wants to go to. In the 1982 incident, Rashed got off the Pan Am flight at Narita airport after planting a time bomb under a seat of the plane. The flight was on its way to Honolulu that Aug. 11 when the device exploded, killing Toru Ozawa, 16, under whose seat the bomb had been planted. Ozawa was setting off on a vacation with his family. Fifteen other passengers were also wounded, including Ozawa’s parent, but the pilots managed to land the plane. Rashed, a Jordanian-born Palestinian, fled to Iraq and remained at large for several years before being captured in 1988 in Greece, where he was tried and handed a 15-year prison sentence. He was released in 1996 after serving eight years, and was extradited to the United States from Egypt two years later. What is “a Jordanian-born Palestinian”? In May 2006, Rashed was sentenced to another seven years in jail as part of plea deal in the United States. He is linked to Abu Ibrahim, who is on the FBI watch list of most-wanted terrorists and is believed to be living in Lebanon, according to media reports. More: US To Release Terrorist Who Planted Airline Bomb From Federal Prison The August 11, 1982, bombing of Pan Am 830 was set in motion when Rashed, wife Christine Pinter and their son traveled to Tokyo with fraudulent identification documents. Rashed tucked the bomb beneath window seat 47K, pulled the pin, engaged the timer and got off in Japan. Toru Ozawa, a 16-year-old vacationing with his family, occupied the same seat on the next leg. The bomb exploded as the plane crossed the Pacific Ocean, filling the rear passenger cabin with smoke, screams and blood. Passenger Tom Stanton, seated several rows away while returning home from a business trip, said it sounded like a shotgun blast and smelled of gun powder. Amid the pandemonium, the flight crew ushered rear passengers to the front, but Stanton tried to stay behind to help others who appeared in shock. He thought fireworks had perhaps gone off, but didn’t suspect a bomb. “Going through my mind — terrorism, whatever — you never thought of that,” he said. Ozawa was killed as he cried out for his parents, and more than a dozen others were injured. The pilot managed to land the plane despite a gaping hole in the cabin floor and bulge in its exterior. “The sad thing about this is Toru Ozawa is dead. He’d be a man with a family, and it was heartbreaking,” said Dan Bent, then Hawaii’s U.S. Attorney. “He was killed right in the presence of his family. He was eviscerated by this bomb.” A piece of gold-plated nickel located inside Ozawa’s body helped link that explosion to others by Ibrahim. Another big break came after a 15 May defector FBI betrayed Rashed to the FBI. Rashed flew back to Baghdad after the bombing, and though at large for years, was arrested in Athens in 1988 with a phony Syrian passport. The Greek government refused to extradite Rashed and insisted on prosecuting him, a decision that rankled U.S. officials who feared he’d escape justice under that country’s legal system. “It was disappointing and it put some serious strain on the bilateral relations with the Greeks, as we told them it would,” said L. Paul Bremer, then the ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism. “Basically, it was a political decision. They gave it no real legal cover as I recall. They simply said we’re not going to turn him over to you, but we’ll figure out how to try him.” Wherever Rashed goes, he may not be done talking: He told AP in the letter that he planned to “write all in two or three books.” And Australian media reports say Rashed has been interviewed in prison about the 1982 bombing of the Israeli consulate in Sydney. Roy Hawk, the Pan Am 830 pilot, said he’s never forgotten the carnage inside the plane. He was dismayed to learn of Rashed’s pending release. “To tell you the truth, I never figured he’d be released,” Hawk said. “I just figured he’d be in prison the rest of his life, and that was it.” Hawk probably never figured a man born to a Muslim father with a Muslim name and strong allegiance to the Islamic world would be president of the United States either. http://wp.me/pbU4v-eee Comment    See all comments   Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/u-s-releases-muslim-who-planted-bomb-on-82-pan-am-flight-killing-boy/     Thanks for flying with WordPress.com