Nine men who lived in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan...

Nine men who lived in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan have been convicted at the Old Bailey [London's main criminal court] of hijacking a jet and flying it to Stansted airport.
The men, who threatened to blow up the Boeing 727 during a tense, three-day stand-off with police, were accused of "casting the British Government as people who would have blood on their hands if their demands were not met".
They were found guilty at the end of a second lengthy trial after the first trial collapsed in April when the jury failed to reach a verdict.
The hijackers insisted they were members of a group called the Young Intellectuals of Afghanistan and were forced to flee for fear of arrest and execution. Ali Safi, 38, Abdul Shohab, 21, Taimur Shah, 29, Kazim Mohammed, 28, Reshad Ahmadi, 19, Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 28, Abdul Ghayur, 25, Mohammed Showaib, 26, Mohammed Safi, 33, had pleaded not guilty, claiming they acted under duress.
A tenth man, Waheed Lutfi, 23, was found not guilty of similar charges and had been cleared of hijacking at the first trial.