CAIRO, March 29. /TASS/. The hijacker of EgyptAir passenger plane has asked for the release of prisoners in Egypt, a Cyprus radio reported on Tuesday.
"The terrorist has demanded the release of prisoners in Egypt’s jails," the report said.
A local flight from Burj al-Arab in Egypt’s Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday morning. The plane landed in Cyprus.
According to preliminary reports, the hijacker, Egypt-born Ibrahim Abdel Tawab Samaha, has US citizenship and is a teacher at the University of Atlanta. He was registered as one of the passengers. All passengers of the hijacked flight except for five foreign nationals and crew have been released by now. There had been 81 people on board, including 30 Egyptians and 26 citizens of other countries. There were no Russians on the plane.
The Greek media earlier said the hijacker's motives might have been personal as he demanded a meeting with his ex-wife, a resident of Cyprus.
"Cypriot authorities are taking the woman to the airport to speak with the man. He has demanded to give a 4-page letter to the woman," the protothema.gr reported.
The woman's name is reportedly Marina Paraschou.