The man, who threatened to blow up the plane with a fake explosives belt and was identified as 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa by Cypriot and Egyptian authorities, faces a host of charges, according to police prosecutor Andreas Lambrianou, the Associated Press reports. These include hijacking, illegal possession of explosives, kidnapping and threats to commit violence.
Mustafa, who was described by Cypriot officials as "psychologically unstable," issued a bizarre set of demands to police negotiators, including what Lambrianou said was a letter he wanted delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife in which he demanded the release of 63 dissident women imprisoned in Egypt.
Lambrianou also said Mustafa told police after his arrest: "What's someone supposed to do when he hasn't seen his wife and children in 24 years and the Egyptian government won't let him?"
His ex, meanwhile, doesn't want to talk to him, a New York Times reporter monitoring the court appearance tweeted.
The judge, Maria Loizou, said she found the police's request for the maximum eight-day detention necessary because of fears that the suspect might flee and the fact that he admitted to the hijacking in a voluntary statement to police.
Tuesday's hijacking, which started shortly after 6:30 a.m. local time and ended with all 72 passengers and crew released some seven hours later, ended peacefully. One passenger, Ben Innes, a Briton, even managed to snap a photo with the man near the end of the siege.
Lambrianou said that 15 minutes into flight MS181 from the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo, the suspect demanded that the aircraft be diverted to airports in either Greece, Turkey or Cyprus. The aircraft eventually landed in Larnaca after the pilots warned of low fuel, and despite an initial refusal from Cypriot authorities on the landing request.
IMAGE: GEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The police prosecutor said witnesses saw the suspect wearing a white belt around his waist laden with cylindrical objects stuffed in pockets. Wire protruding from the cylinders led to what appeared to be a "push-button" detonator the suspect held in his hand.
The suspect had threatened to detonate the belt if police attempted to "neutralize" him, Lambrianou said, but he eventually gave up after the crew and passengers were released.
Lambrianou said no explosives were found in the belt, except for a container filled with an unidentified liquid. Police also found an unidentified liquid in the suspect's bag as well as numerous documents written in Arabic.
The prosecutor said Cypriot authorities will ask the help of Interpol to determine how the suspect managed to get the fake explosives belt through airport security in Egypt.
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