Mohammed Ali Hammadi

Who was Mohammed Ali Hammadi?

Mohammed Ali Hammadi aka Mohammed Ali Hamadi and Mohammed Ali Hamadei, is a wanted terrorist. A Lebanese citizen and alleged member of Hezbollah, he was convicted in a West German court of law of air piracy, murder, and possession of explosives for his part in the 14 June 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

Under indictment by US law enforcement for crimes related to the same hijacking, during which one passenger, U.S. Navy Seabee diver Robert Stethem, was extensively tortured prior to being murdered, Hammadi was sentenced to life imprisonment by the West German court. He was imprisoned in 1987 in West Germany for 19 years, but was abruptly paroled in 2005, and became a fugitive from the United States Department of Justice, which listed him as one of the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists in 2006. He is believed to reside in Lebanon, where he may have rejoined Hezbollah.

There has been speculation that his parole was granted as part of a covert prisoner swap, in exchange for the release of Susanne Osthoff. Taken hostage in Iraq a month prior, Osthoff was released the week of Hammadi's parole.