TA-HISTORY: Germany Frees Terrorist Who Killed Sailor During 1985 Hijacking

Mohammed Ali Hamadi, a Lebanese man who killed a Navy diver during a 1985 TWA airliner hijacking has been released by German authorities. An American spokesman said that the US will do all in its power to bring this man to the United States to stand trial for the murder. Hamadi is currently believed to be in Lebanon.



It seems clear that the Germans broke faith with the US by releasing this man without keeping US officials fully informed of the process, allowing Hamadi to flee Germany for Lebanon. We can only hope that Hamadi will be brought to justice in the United States for killing Robert Dean Stethem. Germany refused to extradite Hamadi to the US because he would likely face the death penalty.



Related News Links:
www.marinetimes.com
www.dw-world.de
www.iht.com
www.jpost.com

[edit on 2005/12/20 by GradyPhilpott]

i dont get it, how can germany benefit from this? im confused as to why they released him in the first place?

The murderer was in prison for 19 years.

How many murderers in the US a freed after shorter sentences?

Yes, he highjacked a plane. Yes, he murdered the sailor, but on many levels this is not much different than the thousands of murders that happen each year in the US. And each year the US prison system releases hundreds, if not thousands, of violent criminals after similar periods of incarceration.

Why should he stand trial again? He served his time and was free to go

He stood trial in a different country for charges that encompassed the hijacking not just the murder by itself. This man murdered an American servicemen which is far different from some murderer serving 10-20 for knocking off a rival drug dealer or some nonsense. He kililed a man serving in the Navy and deserves to answer for his crimes.

I do believe he served his time , 19 years can be very long seeing as he was supposedly 21 years old at the time so hes missed a great deal in his life i think, appart from that they didnt want to hand him over to the us because of him having the chance to get the death penalty.

Originally posted by Fett Pinkus
I do believe he served his time , 19 years can be very long seeing as he was supposedly 21 years old at the time so hes missed a great deal in his life i think, appart from that they didnt want to hand him over to the us because of him having the chance to get the death penalty.

Terrorists seldom reform in prison and so I wouldn't be suprised if he goes back to serve as a mentor for future jihadists, this man needs to be taken into custody and tried regardless of whatever sentence the Germans gave him.

McGrude, Narn, and Fett Pinkus,
First off, greetings and welcome to ATS and the ATS community.
Second, all of you basically say that Mr. Mohammed Ali Hamadi was released because he had served his time, correct?

You all are aware that the sentence/term for Mr. Mohammed Ali Hamadi was life in prison?
Germany Needs Fortitude to Keep Hamadi
Presidential Speech & letters: Robert Dean Stethem & TWA 847






seekerof

[edit on 20-12-2005 by Seekerof]

He wasn't paroled because of good behavior.

www2.kbcitv.com...

Hamadi was paroled just two days before a German hostage was released in Iraq. The German government says there's no connection between the two cases.

headlines.agapepress.org...

According to a Reuters news report, there is speculation that the release of the Hezbollah extremist may be connected to last weekend's freeing of a German woman taken hostage in Iraq three weeks ago.

[edit on 12/20/05 by makeitso]

So Germany was negotiating with terrorists then?






seekerof

hi Seekerof , In germany the term life sentence is used differently to that in the Us ,if they want to keep the inmate longer then he gets what is called sicherheits verwahrung after serving his term (meaning he is kept in jail for as long as the authorities deem fit ),when somebody gets the life sentence they do take alook after 15 years to see if he may elegable for parole

www.strafrecht-ratgeber.de...

sorry this is in german but its the best i could find , checkout the second last paragraph at the bottom , maybe you can translate it

As for me being new that isnt true as ive more been lurking in the background for quit sometime doing heaps of reading but thanks anway

It is rumoured that Germany traded the freedom of Hezbollah terrorist Mohammad Ali Hamadi, who tortured and murdered U.S. Navy Diver Robert Dean Stethem, for Mrs. Susanne Osthoff.

Within three days of Hamadi's release, Susanne Osthoff, a German citizen kidnapped in Iraq, was released.

(see this thread TERRORISM: First german citizen kidnapped in Iraq)

[edit on 21-12-2005 by Riwka]

Originally posted by Fett Pinkus
hi Seekerof , In germany the term life sentence is used differently to that in the Us ,if they want to keep the inmate longer then he gets what is called sicherheits verwahrung after serving his term (meaning he is kept in jail for as long as the authorities deem fit ),when somebody gets the life sentence they do take alook after 15 years to see if he may elegable for parole

www.strafrecht-ratgeber.de...

Hey, thank you for the clarification and link, Fett Pinkus.

As for me being new that isnt true as ive more been lurking in the background for quit sometime doing heaps of reading but thanks anway

And your welcome.
Good to have you aboard.
My best to you in the future here and I hope you come to enjoy your time here.
Again, thanks for the link and clarification, but what I do find more incriminating is not the German explantion for life in prison, but what makeitso and Riwka posted.





seekerof

[edit on 21-12-2005 by Seekerof]

McGrude, Narn, and Fett Pinkus, are there any other terrorists in german jails right now? Yes? Now that the german government has shown the terrorists the way, I wonder how long it will take before another german is kidnapped to gain their release?

Starting to see how appeasement works? Still having trouble? Rewind to the 1930's and check out hitler, chamberlain and diladier. Remember how they gave the world "peace in our (their) time".

Thanks for the welcome, I have been reading this messageboard for several months now and felt i could contribute.

Fett Pinkus beat me to the definition of a life sentence. Just to add though that here in the UK a life sentence is also not a permanent sentence. I'm lead to believe a life sentence is a minimum of 20 years or thereabouts and can be let out shortly after if they dont pose a threat. Of course how you assess if they're not a threat anymore is a different story.

Life also means different things depending on which state in the usa you are in

in some life means life - others life is just a term in prison - usully meaning 15 years.

so , in some , you kill someone you can get out after 10 years - marriage lasts longer

its called Life without parole (LWOP) and there are over 2250 minors (children under 18) who are serving LWOP.

Originally posted by Agent47
He stood trial in a different country for charges that encompassed the hijacking not just the murder by itself. This man murdered an American servicemen which is far different from some murderer serving 10-20 for knocking off a rival drug dealer or some nonsense. He kililed a man serving in the Navy and deserves to answer for his crimes.

The (alleged, there is no definitive proof who shot) murder WAS part of the trial, though the hijacking because it being provable was more important. And for every credible court there is NO difference whether it was a drug dealer, a sailor or the second son of god that got killed. Apart from that it is not only illegal in Germany to extradite to countries where a death sentence is probable, it is also illegal to extradite a convicted criminal (especially one who has done his time) somewhere where he is likely to be trialled again for the same crime. The rule "not to be trialled twice for the same crime" is also common in the US Law IIRC.

Originally posted by Riwka
It is rumoured that Germany traded the freedom of Hezbollah terrorist Mohammad Ali Hamadi, who tortured and murdered U.S. Navy Diver Robert Dean Stethem, for Mrs. Susanne Osthoff.

Within three days of Hamadi's release, Susanne Osthoff, a German citizen kidnapped in Iraq, was released.

(see this thread TERRORISM: First german citizen kidnapped in Iraq)

That assumption is incorrect. The timeline alone is proof of that.
Osthoff was kidnapped on the 25th of November. It was not known what had happened to her until the 29th Nov. when a still image was sent to a german NBC. The first official contact between the kidnappers and the German representatives was made in early December. She finally was released on the 18th of December. It is assumed that she wasnt released earlier because many transnational roads were closed and secured earlier because of the election.

Now the Hammadi timeline:
He was released around the 15th. of December (and not "secretly" as some media reports suggest, there just was no fuzz about it). However the court ruling to parole and release him was made on the 30th of November, which was only 1 day after it was KNOWN that she got kidnapped, and several days BEFORE even a first contact in the Osthoff case was made.

Source
...Hammadi habe nach Absitzen von 19 Jahren Haft einfach die regulären Mittel benutzt, um freizukommen. Aus der Haftanstalt und von einem Gutachter hätten Einschätzungen vorgelegen, dass er nicht mehr gefährlich sei, sagte seine Anwältin. Folglich entschied das Landgericht Kleve am 30. November 2005, dass er aus der Haft entlassen werden und sofort in den Libanon ausreisen solle. ...

My translation
After 19 years in prison Hammadi simply used the regular methods to come free. From the prison and the court consultant there were reports about his rehabilitation, his lawyer said. Subsequently the state court Kleve decided on the 30. of November 2005 that he should be released and immediately returned to Lebanon.

The process for his paroling started MONTHS ago.

Looks like the the Hezbollah terrorist is in custody in Lebanon:

Washington Times: Navy diver's killer held in Beirut

The Lebanese killer of a U.S. Navy diver was in custody in Beirut yesterday, according to U.S. officials who decried his release from a German prison last week and pledged to bring him to the United States for trial.

The United States, which has been seeking Hamadi's extradition since his 1987 capture in Frankfurt, privately expressed anger at his early release, but officials said they were determined to "get our hands on him."

"We are going to make every effort to see that he stands trial here in the United States," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "We are disappointed now that he has been released before the end of his full sentence."

[edit on 21-12-2005 by Riwka]

Wow! This is indeed great news. Thanks, Riwka. I wanted to say that we would have him in custody in short order, but I was afraid make such a prediction. This has really made my day.

[quopte]The American officials said they were aware that Mr. Hamadi would be granted a parole hearing at some point this year and had sought discussions with German security officials over the possibility of turning him over to the United States in the event he was released. But Mr. Hamadi flew to Lebanon before any agreement was reached
Why couldnt' these officials figure out a simple thing like a parole board meeting date? How much of this is due to incompetence on the part of the americans?

Mr. Hamadi was put on trial in Frankfurt in 1989, found guilty of Mr. Stethem's murder, and sentenced to the maximum under the law of what was then West Germany, life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

How did germany have jurisdiction in the killing of an american?
It also looks like the west german government decided to not hand him over to the US because other terrorists had kidnapped some other people and apparently threatened to kill them if this happened.

His release on Thursday came only a few days before a German archaeologist, Susanne Osthoff, was freed by a group that took her hostage in Iraq three weeks ago.

So they caved in to one generation of terrorists and didn't hand him over to the americans years ago, now they caved into to another generation of terrorists.

When he was arrested while in transit at the Frankfurt airport, Mr. Hamadi was found to be carrying three bottles of a chemical explosive in his luggage.

Wow, this guy is a really nice guy.

The Lebanese killer of a U.S. Navy diver was in custody in Beirut yesterday

Well, now he's a dead guy.