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| EgyptAir hijacker's ex-wife says he is 'extremely dangerous' | EgyptAir hijacker's ex-wife says he is 'extremely dangerous' |
| (5 months later) | |
| The hijacking of an EgyptAir plane earlier this week was not the action of a man blinded by love but “a very dangerous” person prone to acts of domestic violence and drug abuse, his Cypriot ex-wife has said. | The hijacking of an EgyptAir plane earlier this week was not the action of a man blinded by love but “a very dangerous” person prone to acts of domestic violence and drug abuse, his Cypriot ex-wife has said. |
| Speaking for the first time since her former husband donned a fake suicide belt and forced a flight to be diverted to Cyprus on Tuesday, the woman who unwittingly emerged as a central figure in the dramatic standoff said her marriage to Seif Eldin Mustafa had been “a black period” in her life marked by domestic abuse. | Speaking for the first time since her former husband donned a fake suicide belt and forced a flight to be diverted to Cyprus on Tuesday, the woman who unwittingly emerged as a central figure in the dramatic standoff said her marriage to Seif Eldin Mustafa had been “a black period” in her life marked by domestic abuse. |
| “Most of the media painted a picture of romance in which a man was trying to reach out to his estranged wife,” Marina Paraschou told Cyprus’s leading daily, Phileleftheros. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth and they would have a different opinion if they knew what he was really like. It was a very black period, full of threats, beating, torture and terror from a man who knew how to produce fear and spread unhappiness around him.” | “Most of the media painted a picture of romance in which a man was trying to reach out to his estranged wife,” Marina Paraschou told Cyprus’s leading daily, Phileleftheros. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth and they would have a different opinion if they knew what he was really like. It was a very black period, full of threats, beating, torture and terror from a man who knew how to produce fear and spread unhappiness around him.” |
| The Egyptian forced the Alexandria to Cairo flight to reroute to Cyprus after threatening to blow up the A320, apparently in an attempt to send a letter to Paraschou and claim asylum to reunite with his estranged family. | The Egyptian forced the Alexandria to Cairo flight to reroute to Cyprus after threatening to blow up the A320, apparently in an attempt to send a letter to Paraschou and claim asylum to reunite with his estranged family. |
| All 62 passengers and crew were ultimately released during a nailbiting, six-hour siege that saw Mustafa surrender and one of the British passengers, Ben Innes, become an unlikely internet sensation after posing for a smiling photograph of himself next to the hijacker on board the plane. | All 62 passengers and crew were ultimately released during a nailbiting, six-hour siege that saw Mustafa surrender and one of the British passengers, Ben Innes, become an unlikely internet sensation after posing for a smiling photograph of himself next to the hijacker on board the plane. |
| Innes’s mother, Pauline, scolded him for his “stupid” actions, telling him as he landed back at Manchester airport: “I don’t know why you did it”, reported the Sun. | Innes’s mother, Pauline, scolded him for his “stupid” actions, telling him as he landed back at Manchester airport: “I don’t know why you did it”, reported the Sun. |
| “The past two days have been crazy, unbelievable,” Innes told the paper. “But I’m here now and things can get back to normal. I’ll be relaxing at home with Mum.” | “The past two days have been crazy, unbelievable,” Innes told the paper. “But I’m here now and things can get back to normal. I’ll be relaxing at home with Mum.” |
| Paraschou, a law school graduate who had four children with Mustafa after marrying him in 1985 when she was 20 and he was 26, recounted how her former husband had disappeared for decades. | Paraschou, a law school graduate who had four children with Mustafa after marrying him in 1985 when she was 20 and he was 26, recounted how her former husband had disappeared for decades. |
| Even when one of their three daughters died in a motorbike accident, she said, he failed to display any emotion or turn up for the funeral. | Even when one of their three daughters died in a motorbike accident, she said, he failed to display any emotion or turn up for the funeral. |
| “For 25 years he never remembered that he had a wife and children,” she told Politis, another leading daily, in an interview published on Thursday. “Now he’s remembered?” | “For 25 years he never remembered that he had a wife and children,” she told Politis, another leading daily, in an interview published on Thursday. “Now he’s remembered?” |
| Mustafa, who has been remanded in custody, is likely to face charges ranging from hijacking, kidnapping and threat to commit violence. | Mustafa, who has been remanded in custody, is likely to face charges ranging from hijacking, kidnapping and threat to commit violence. |
| Appearing before a court in Larnaca on Wednesday, he appeared in jocular mood, waving a victory sign to assembled journalists and telling an investigating magistrate that he had carried out the hijacking to be with his family. “What’s someone supposed to do when he hasn’t seen his wife and children in 24 years and the Egyptian government won’t let him?” the police prosecutor cited him as saying. | Appearing before a court in Larnaca on Wednesday, he appeared in jocular mood, waving a victory sign to assembled journalists and telling an investigating magistrate that he had carried out the hijacking to be with his family. “What’s someone supposed to do when he hasn’t seen his wife and children in 24 years and the Egyptian government won’t let him?” the police prosecutor cited him as saying. |
| Egyptian officials, who announced they would be seeking his extradition, described him as having a long criminal record, saying he served a one-year prison sentence until March 2015. | Egyptian officials, who announced they would be seeking his extradition, described him as having a long criminal record, saying he served a one-year prison sentence until March 2015. |
| Paraschou, aged 51, denied she had participated in negotiations with him, saying she had been taken to the airport by police to identify him after the hijacker stunned authorities by handing them a letter addressed to her. | Paraschou, aged 51, denied she had participated in negotiations with him, saying she had been taken to the airport by police to identify him after the hijacker stunned authorities by handing them a letter addressed to her. |
| “Neither did I speak with him, nor do I want to speak with him,” she said, adding that he had never held a job and been a habitual drug user. “This man used my name only and simply as an excuse to come to Cyprus and ask for [political] asylum.” | “Neither did I speak with him, nor do I want to speak with him,” she said, adding that he had never held a job and been a habitual drug user. “This man used my name only and simply as an excuse to come to Cyprus and ask for [political] asylum.” |
| A Cyprus government spokesman said earlier this week that Mustafa had been deported three times from the island on charges of harassment and domestic violence. | A Cyprus government spokesman said earlier this week that Mustafa had been deported three times from the island on charges of harassment and domestic violence. |
| “He knew Cyprus well and lived here until 1994,” Nikos Christodoulides said. “After that he was deported three times on charges of harassing his wife. On at least one occasion he got back into the country using a fake passport.” | “He knew Cyprus well and lived here until 1994,” Nikos Christodoulides said. “After that he was deported three times on charges of harassing his wife. On at least one occasion he got back into the country using a fake passport.” |
| The plane takeover, he insisted, had been the work of a “psychologically unstable man”. | The plane takeover, he insisted, had been the work of a “psychologically unstable man”. |