After a successful but not bloody hijacking of an EgyptAir flight and the forced landing in Cyprus, the hijacker is due to appear in court later today.
Cypriot Police spokesperson Andreas Angelidis says they still need to sort out a number of questions before making any decisions about charges.
In light of the above, it is therefore expected that Cypriot authorities will have to keep the suspect in custody until next week.
According to Andreas confirmed yesterday, “There is no evidence up until now that this person is related to terrorism, so regarding the other situation; I mean the motive is something that we want to investigate what happened. And this is the reason that this person is staying in custody, and we prosecute him before the court tomorrow, in order to ask for, just to stay in custody (until) Monday, just to investigate the whole incident.”
The suspect has been identified as 58-year-old Seif Mustafa.
The hijacker is said to have a long criminal record, including convictions for forgery, theft and drug possession.
Cypriot officials are suggesting the suspect may have mental issues.
He wore a fake explosive belt and forced the pilots to change their course to Cyprus while on a short-haul flight from Alexandria to Cairo.
The flight, with 56 people aboard, landed safely, with no one hurt.
