Former hijacker found working near airport

LONDON, May 17 (UPI) -- An Afghani man who hijacked an airliner in 2000 was awaiting a court appearance Saturday after being discovered working at a British Airlines office.

Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 34, was jailed in London on charges of violating the terms of his bail from a December run-in with police. British authorities said that when he was arrested Tuesday, Mohammidy was working for a firm contracted to clean the offices of British Airlines' training center near Heathrow Airport, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The newspaper said Mohammidy was one of several hijackers who commandeered a domestic Afghani flight in 2000 and forced it to fly to Britain, where they demanded political asylum. Mohammidy spent 30 months in jail for the hijacking but later had his conviction overturned on the grounds he fled under duress from the Taliban.

Mohammidy was charged in December with assault and criminal damage to property and had been out on bail, the British newspaper reported, adding he does not face any terrorism-related charges.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International