Posted on 12/20/2005 7:10:50 AM PST by minus_273
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- A Hezbollah militant sentenced to life in Germany for murdering a U.S. Navy diver during the 1985 hijacking of a U.S. jetliner has been freed, officials said.
The German government denied on Tuesday the release was related to the freeing of a German hostage in Iraq.
Mohammed Ali Hamadi was released Thursday and allowed to return to his native Lebanon on the next day, after qualifying for parole after 19 years in prison, said Ulrich Hermanski, spokesman for the North Rhine Wesphalia state justice ministry.
"There was no special treatment," Hermanski said in a telephone interview.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
From the timing, it's pretty obvious that it was a swap for the hostage. This is not the way to get German - American relations back on track after Schroeder.
The Mossad should have been waiting for him with a bullet or cyanide capsule.
The rotten Krauts have no gratitude. They would even more impoverished than they are now if we hadn't paid through the nose to keep the Russians at bay for nearly half a century.
They certainly wouldn't have their entire country back in one piece if it wasn't for the U.S., ROnald Reagan, the Poles, and the Pope.
Ingrates. We should have carpet bombed the entire rotten Country during WW2.
Idiots. They think this will save their sorry arses? The militant muslims could give a rats ass about what they've done in the past. They are only out to kill non-muslims and Germany is NO exception to the terrorists.
Then the mentally retarded have a higher level of understanding than Germany.
And don't tell us to calm down.
Yep! This guy caused a lot of trouble although it was originally not our business. We had two Germans hijacked in Lebanon by his familiy, that tried to press him free during the early 90ties. Germany did not exchange him in that time. Now his sentence is over to German judiciary practice. Of course the timing of those guys in Hessen is horrible.
Bookies are now taking bets on his life expectancy.
End of the week. Next question; Israel, Iraq, or elsewhere?
Robert Dean Stethem, Navy Diver
We remember that you died because you served our country.
We will honor your memory by continuing the fight against terrorists.
If you do not believe me just read number 105.
We did. We also rebuilt the western 2/3rds afterwards.
This reminds me of the German "fan" who stabbed Seles in the back. He got a slap on the wrist after destroying her career and nearly killing her.
LOL!
Good joke. Relax - we Germans do not torture our prisoners anymore. Seriously - this is a good question. Probably Hamadi told the staff that he is so sorry for his crimes and that he wants to work as -let's say- a farmer to rebuildt his shaken country (sarcasm). As I already said - I am absolutely not happy about is release but I can't change the justice of my country.
They don't like to do it, but our prosecutors can waive the death penalty. If you read Debbie Schlussel's take, Germany Releases US Patriot's Hezbollah Murderer-Trades Terrorist Murderer for hostage in Iraq, it's not clear the German government is the only one responsible for his release. Personally, I'd like to know if a recent extradition request was made based on his parole, or if we're discussing the original request bacy in 1987. IMO, if this was a hostage swap, it was a very bad idea.
Top ranking federal officials--U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy III, FBI Special Agent in Charge for Michigan Daniel Roberts, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Special Agent in Charge for Michigan and Ohio Brian Moskowitz, Citizenship and Immigration Services official Carol Jenifer--recently broke pita at the Detroit-area mosque of one of Hezbollah's and Iran's top agents in the United States. They laughed with him about Hezbollah being on the State Department terrorist list, seeming to scratch their heads as to why it's on the list. They clapped enthusiastically when he described what's going on in Southern Lebanon as "resistance, not terrorism."It's not rocket science to make correct predictions like we make on this site--that Hamadi would be set free or that Islamic Jihad frontman Sami Al-Arian would be acquitted. Clueless, spineless appeasers like Murphy, Roberts, Moskowitz, and Jenifer, and the German government are running the show--and that makes the prospect of terrorists going free very predictable.
Robert Stethem must be looking down from Heaven and trying to make sense of what is happening here on mortal earth. He was an American patriot and for that, faced a brutal, early death. He would have been around 43, today. Around the same age, Murphy, Roberts, Moskowitz et al are patriotic only to themselves and their aggressive ambitions--and each continues to be promoted. When President Bush said, "You are either on our side or the terrorists' side," his own federal officials who oversee these three must not have been listening. (Moskowitz' boss, ICE Director of Investigations Marcy Forman-Friedman, reportedly told other ICE officials that she's glad Moskowitz "smoothed things over with the Islamic community of Detroit." That, not catching terrorists, is the priority at ICE.)
Europe -- where the death penalty is barbaric and letting murderering terrorists loose is humane. Europe -- a civilization that hates itself.
Anyone still believe life in prison is better than executing murderers?
That is current policy. It was not the policy in 1987, when the extradition issue came up.
At least the German gov't admits the trade.
On Berlin
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