Nine years' jail for NZ's only aircraft hijacker(Somalian Women)

By David Clarkson

Refugee Asha Ali Abdille has been jailed for nine years for New Zealand’s only aircraft hijacking which terrified passengers and crew and ended a pilot’s career.
The 36-year-old, a refugee from the horrors of Somalia who never fitted into New Zealand society, will not be considered for parole until she has served six years.
She has already been in custody for two-and-a-half years since her arrest after the Air National plane landed at Christchurch Airport after the hijacking on February 8, 2008.
Crown prosecutor Pip Currie told the High Court in Christchurch: “The kidnapping of innocent air passengers and flight crew must be met with a strong response from the courts. The community expects nothing less.”
The crown had asked for a sentencing starting point of 15 years and Justice Christine French increased that by a year because of Abdille’s record of anti-social behaviour. She has 27 previous convictions and she was on bail for threatening to kill and possession of a weapon at the time of the hijacking.Read More