Posted on 11/08/2002 4:23:54 PM PST by knighthawk
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — A Swedish man previously suspected of planning to hijack a London-bound airliner was charged Friday with illegal possession of a weapon, after the earlier charges were dropped.
Kerim Chatty was arrested on Aug. 29 at a regional airport in Vaesteraas when security officials found a 6.35-milimeter caliber pistol in a toiletries bag during a routine scan.
Prosecutor Thomas Haeggstroem filed the latest charges after he dropped the hijack investigation last week because he could not disprove Chatty's claim that he just forgot the gun was in his bag.
Chatty, who has previous assault and theft convictions, told investigators he found the gun in a borrowed car a few weeks before his arrest. He said he put it in his bag and forgot about it when he left for the airport as he was heading to an Islamic conference in Birmingham, England. Chatty's father is Tunisian and mother is Swedish.
Another gun unrelated to the Vaesteraas incident turned up during the investigation. Chatty was also charged Friday with illegal possession of that weapon, Haeggstroem said.
Chatty has declined requests for interviews and defense attorney Nils Uggla was not immediately available to comment on the charges.
If convicted, Chatty could face up to four years in prison.
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
al-Qaeda ties?
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