Swedish Police Release Suspected Hijacker

Swedish authorities today released a man accused of planning to hijack a plane bound for London last month, after admitting they did not have enough evidence to keep him in prison.

Kerim Chatty, 29, was arrested on August 29 after boarding a Ryanair flight bound for London's Stansted airport with a gun concealed in his carry-on luggage. Police held him on suspicion of planning a hijacking and illegal possession of a weapon.

However the chief prosecutor, Thomas Haeggstroem, said he did not have enough evidence to meet today's deadline to file formal charges against Mr Chatty, and released him from prison.

"In the last days the suspicions against Kerim Chatty have been weakened and there no longer are probable grounds for the suspicion of planning to hijack," Mr Haeggstroem said.

He added that Mr Chatty's release did not signal the end of the investigation, and he did not rule out an eventual hijacking charge. The prosecutor imposed a travel ban on Mr Chatty and ordered him to report to police during the next month.

Mr Chatty, a Swedish citizen with a Tunisian father and Swedish mother, was arrested at a regional airport in Vaesteraas, 60 miles north-west of the capital, Stockholm, after security officials found a gun in his carry-on luggage.

He admitted that he had the gun but pleaded innocent to the hijacking charge. Mr Chatty told police he was part of a group of people going to an Islamic conference in Birmingham, England.

His arrest came amid heightened fears of terrorism ahead of the one-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the US. Authorities have denied reports that Mr Chatty planned to crash the plane.

"There is nothing in the investigation that indicates that Chatty intended to crash the plane into a target in Sweden or in any other country," Mr Haeggstroem said. "Nor is there any other suspect in the case."

At the time of Mr Chatty's arrest, police searched the cabin and luggage compartment, and the plane took off several hours late. Several other Muslim passengers initially believed to be travelling with Mr Chatty were held as well, but they were released immediately following questioning.