Greek Police Arrest Wrong Man in 1985 Hijacking of TWA Flight 847
In this June 19, 1985 photo, a hijacker points a weapon toward an ABC news media crew from the window of the cockpit of the Trans World Airlines jet at Beirut International Airport. (Herve Merliac/AP)
Steelworker 2nd Class Robert D. Stethem (Navy)
I well remember this atrocity, and the fury when Germany released him to Lebanon. When the real Mohammed Ali Hammadi is captured, he needs to be deported to GITMO before they release him again.
From the article:
By: Howard Altman
For a few fleeting hours, Kenneth Stethem held onto a thin wisp of hope that maybe this time, after all the years, justice had finally been served.
On Saturday, authorities in Greece announced the arrest of a man they said was connected to the 1985 hijacking that led to the death of Stethem’s younger brother, Navy diver Robert Stethem. He was a 23-year-old passenger on TWA Flight 847, commandeered by jihadis who tortured and shot him to death.
The hopeful story was picked up by media around the world, including Military Times. Greek media reported that it was the man who fired the fatal shot.
But Sunday afternoon, Stethem, a retired Navy SEAL, received a telephone call that would disintegrate the wisp.
“It was not Mohammed Ali Hammadi,” Kenneth Stethem, 58, told Military Times in an exclusive interview.
Thanks for the update, Steve. The article may be viewed at The Navy Times
The flight was commandeered by hijackers shortly after taking off from Athens on June 14, 1985. It originated in Cairo and had San Diego set as a final destination, with stops scheduled in Athens, Rome, Boston and Los Angeles.
The hijackers shot and killed Steelworker 2nd Class (DV) Robert Stethem, 23, after beating him unconscious.
They released the other 146 passengers and crew members on the plane during an ordeal that included stops in Beirut and Algiers.
The last hostage was freed after 17 days.
Category: International Affairs, Legal
I remember that as well. I’m with you with regards to his need to be “matriculated” at GITMO… Or sent through the federal court system here in SE Virginia. Bubba, Thor, Julio, and Tiny could knock him unconscious during “man love Thursday”. With all other things equal, applicable laws dictate otherwise. One could wish though. Our government should apply to extradite him to the U.S. as soon as they’d be able to.
^Ditto^ and what ‘Ed said. Prolly never see true justice in this case. Wonder if Germany issued the warrant to keep some of our folks, or people more friendly to us, from snagging this POS. In a perfect world, we get him, during the trial process the BTJ&T Deli uses him as a taste tester of man meat sammiches. When found guilty he is hung from the yardarm of the USS Stethem; using a rope made from pig intestines.
Due to the amended post, I will amend my comment to say…we get the guilty man…
Everything else would be the same.
Gitmo, or at least allow him to play the role of “moving target” at the local range…
I remember this hijacking. They just dumped Stethen out of the plane on the concrete and left him there.
And yet, they would howl and scream if anyone did that to them.
Is this the flight with the stewardess who used her American Express card to pay for refueling the plane in which she was part of the crew? Or was that a different flight?
RIP Stetham, I hope the bastard that murdered you gets shanked.
I remember that poor sailor.
The POS Terrorist needs to be lynched and fed to pigs.
Skip the lynching. Just feed him to the pigs.
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/09/22/man-arrested-in-greece-had-nothing-to-do-with-1985-hijacking-and-murder-victims-brother-tells-military-times/
Amended the post. Thanks for the update.
I say if we catch him we run his sorry ass through a giant wood chipper and feed it into a pigpen.
Something in the reporting did not pass the smell test. According to what I read, the hijacker was caught and served time in a German prison for the hijacking before being paroled. According to the news item, Germany requested his arrest. Why would they parole him and years later ask for his arrest? Should have shot the sonovabitch when they had him.
My youngest, 4 at the time, and I watched on TV news. The network played a recording of the murder. Casey asked, “Dad, why is that man squealing?” I said, “Those people are about to kill him.” Casey asked, “Why are they going to kill him?” I said, “Because he is an American.” Casey now has 15 years in the Army, two deployments to Iraq, CIB, Bronze Star with cluster and a V. I don’t know that he remembers the specifics, but he does have the concept of payback.