February 12, 2000

Just 37 hostages from Afghan plane want to go home
By Paul Majendie
LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Only 37 of the 142 hostages freed from a hijacked Afghan airliner want to go home, British officials said on Saturday.

Amnesty urges UK to weigh Afghan asylum claims
LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Amnesty International urged the British government on Friday not to bow to pressure to send dozens of freed hijack hostages back to Afghanistan, saying the country had a history of human rights violations.

Afghan Asylum Claims May Drag On
By CAROLINE BYRNE
.c The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) - Britain has staked out a tough line against Afghans seeking asylum after a hijacking, but it could be months before a final decision. Afghanistan warned Friday that the hijackers could face death if they returned.

Hijacking shows Afghans desperate to start new lives
KABUL, Feb 11 (AFP) - Many Afghans share the desperate ambition of the hostages who were aboard the hijacked Afghan Ariana jet to leave their war-torn country and start new lives abroad.

Afghan rights under spotlight
BBC
The outcome of the hijack of the Afghan plane has put the Taleban movement's poor human rights record under the spotlight.

Crew tell of hijack terror
BBC
Crewmen from the hijacked Afghan airliner have told how their captors threatened to kill passengers and blow up the plane at Stansted airport.

Afghan plane hostages to be transferred to immigration center
LONDON, Feb 12 (AFP) - Britain's interior ministry confirmed Saturday that most of the people on board the Afghan flight that was hijacked and eventually landed at an airport near London were refusing to return home.