Perhaps, now he can rest in peace.
Posted on 04/16/2003 8:40:55 AM PDT by 30-06 Springfield
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
The daughters of an elderly man who was killed by a violent Palestinian group during the hijacking of a cruise ship in 1985 hailed the arrest of the faction's leader and said it will send a message to other terrorists.
"We are delighted that the murderous terrorist Abul Abbas is in U.S. custody," Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer, the daughters of Leon Klinghoffer, said in a statement provided by family friend and spokeswoman Letty Simon on Tuesday night.
Abbas, who led a faction of the Palestine Liberation Front, was taken by American special operations forces during a raid on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Leon Klinghoffer, 69, was a passenger on the Achille Lauro, which was going from Egypt to Israel when it was hijacked by a group of Abbas' followers.
Klinghoffer was shot and killed in the wheelchair he used and was tossed off the ship. He was traveling with his wife, Marilyn, and nine friends, and they were celebrating the couple's 36th wedding anniversary.
The hijacking ended after Egypt negotiated with the hijackers. Klinghoffer's wife died of cancer four months later.
"While we personally seek justice for our father's murder, the larger issue is terrorism," Klinghoffer's daughters said. "Bringing Abbas to justice will send a strong signal to terrorists anywhere in the world that there is no place to run, no place to hide."
Abbas, who has eluded authorities since 1985, was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in Italy for masterminding the hijacking.
Ten years later, Abbas apologized for Klinghoffer's death, saying "The killing of the passenger was a mistake. ... We are sorry."
Klinghoffer, who owned some wholesale appliance stores, lived in Manhattan and maintained a home in Long Branch, N.J.
His daughters, who live in New York City, said they hoped U.S. prosecutors "revive a federal indictment against Abbas for piracy, hostage-taking and conspiracy."
American officials have not said where Abbas will be detained or whether he could face charges in the United States.
Life? I would vote for using him as a pop up target for the USMC.
This came up on another thread this morning. I hate to break this to the daughters, but I don't think the U.S. has any jurisdiction to prosecute this guy.
Perhaps, now he can rest in peace.
Even Gitmo is too good for the likes of this scumbag. The only thing that will do the job is a length of hemp rope and something to throw it over. Since his crime was in part piracy on the high seas, I think maybe something on a US Navy warship might be appropriate. Do it as close to the spot where Mr. Klinghoffer was pushed overboard as can be determined. Announce the time, date and GPS coordinates in advance. If any of his friends come out to play, well, US Navy warships still have deck guns do they not?
Just make sure he's got a couple of cinder blocks lashed to his ankles.
Then you actually agree with me. Regardless of whether or not we think they are a good idea, the "secret terror tribunals" were established as a blatant attempt to circumvent international law (and U.S. law, too) and give the U.S. government the ability to conduct trials for people over whom it has absolutely no jurisdiction.
The "Federal indictment" that the daughters referred to cannot be acted upon. They have to send Abbas to Gitmo because any attempt to prosecute him in the United States will end up with the case thrown out of court and the prosecution laughed out of the courtroom.
Any attempt at a legitimate prosecution of this guy under the "secret tribunals" established in the Patriot Act would be a clear case of trying someone under ex post facto conditions. In the United States, you can't pass a law in 2002, then use it to prosecute someone for a crime committed in 1985.
He murdered an American citizen in international waters. I happen to think we have much stronger legal grounds than you do.
I don't know who "you" is supposed to mean here. And any statements about the legal grounds for prosecuting Abbas are nothing more than speculation unless they come from someone with a background in maritime law. I was in high school when this incident occurred, and I remember thinking at the time that the most enduring lesson was this: If you're going to sail in international waters, do it on an American ship.
And without any problem at all, we can make him disappear for years into some hellhole. We know we can do that with no problem.
The U.S. has also shown that "we" can make 80+ Branch Davidians disappear in a conflagration in Waco, Texas. The fact that "we" can do something isn't really the point here.
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