Cyprus Rejects Suspected Hijacker's Asylum Claim

Cypriot authorities have rejected an application for political asylum by the Egyptian man who admitted hijacking a domestic EgyptAir flight and diverting it to Cyprus last March.

The man's lawyer, Robertos Brahimis, said Cyprus' Asylum Service deemed 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa's asylum claim inadmissible because he had "perpetrated a serious crime" by hijacking the Airbus A320 with 72 passengers and crew aboard with a fake suicide belt.

Brahimis said Friday he's appealing the decision.

The lawyer said the decision was mistaken because a claimant has to be granted refugee status before any crime can be weighed against him or her.

Brahimis said Mustafa feared he would be "tortured or killed" by Egyptian authorities if a Cypriot court granted an Egyptian request for his extradition.