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Bellavista Aside,
Glencairn Refocuses on
Nicaragua
Panamanian police
free 2 Syrians after probe of actions on
flight
Cuba Raises Eyebrow at
Bush Tantrum
Bolivia, Iran sign
documents to boost ties |
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Panamanian police free 2
Syrians after probe of
actions on flight
PANAMA CITY, Panama –
Panamanian authorities
said Thursday they had
freed two Syrian
passengers and found no
terrorist links to four
others still in custody
after they allegedly
tried to enter an
airplane cockpit during
a flight from Cuba.
The two male youths, who
authorities said were 16
or 17 years old, were
released Wednesday night
after officials found no
grounds to charge them
with any crime,
prosecutor Ruben Arango
told The Associated
Press.
The passengers were
detained when the Copa
Airlines flight landed
in Panama City on
Tuesday after the pilot
reported that three of
the Syrians tried to
open the locked cockpit
door, said Panamanian
Judicial Police Director
Jose Ayu Prado.
Panamanian National
Police initially
reported that the men
said they had confused
the cockpit with the
bathroom.
Arango said the law
prohibits him from
releasing the minors'
names. Neither did
authorities identify the
four other Syrians and
one Cuban still held, or
say what charges they
were considering.
Authorities had until
Thursday to charge or
release them, Attorney
General Ana Matilde
Gomez said.
Ayu said contacts with
the international police
agency Interpol turned
up nothing to link the
men to organized crime
or terrorist groups.
The six Syrians told
authorities they were en
route to Haiti to attend
a friend's wedding,
while the Cuban was
traveling from Havana to
Argentina, authorities
said. All were in the
first-class section.
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