
A Lebanese man accused of involvement in the hijacking of a TWA plane and the murder of a US navy diver has been arrested in Greece, police said on Saturday.

The 65-year-old was spotted by policemen in the island of Mykonos and detained on Thursday, a statement said.

Greek authorities said there was a European arrest warrant issued by Germany for the hijacking as well as a kidnapping committed in 1987.

Pilot John Testrake, right, was forced to fly his jet across the Mediterranean after it was hijacked in Athens in June 1985

Greek police said they have arrested one of the men suspected of involvement in the hijacking

TWA Flight 847 was hijacked in Athens on June 14, 1985 by Hezbollah The jet was held for 17 days and forced to fly across the Mediterranean four times

US Navy diver Robert Stethem, pictured, was badly beaten and shot in the back of the head and dumped on the tarmac in Beirut on the second day of the hijack

Greek media said he was involved in June 14, 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the murder of an American passenger.

He was also wanted in connection with a 1987 kidnapping crime, possibly related to his release in return for the freeing of two German citizens held hostage by his accomplices in Lebanon, the source said.

The TWA 847 flight from Cairo to San Diego with stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles was hijacked shortly after taking off from Athens in 1985.

The hijackers demanded the release of Shi'ite Muslim prisoners from Israeli custody.

Those on board endured a three-day intercontinental ordeal with TWA pilot John Testrake being forced to crisscross the Mediterranean with his 153 passengers and crew members, from Beirut to Algiers and back again, landing in Beirut three times before he was finally allowed to stop.

Some passengers were beaten and a U.S. Navy diver, Robert Stethem who was on board the aircraft was beaten and murdered. Dozens of passengers were held hostage over the following two weeks. In all, the hijack lasted some 17 days.

On June 15, 1985 during the first stop in Beirut, 23-year-old Stethem of Waldorf, Maryland, was severely beaten by Hamadi and his accomplice and shot point blank in the head.

Mohammed Ali Hamadi, left, and his two co-accused Hasan Izz-al-Din, center, and Ali Atwa right

A Lebanese employee at Beirut airport takes bags of sandwiches on board of the American TWA Boeing 727 parked in Beirut

Two of four heavy armed Lebanese Chi'ite Moslem gunmen, one his face hidden with a bag, who hijacked 14 June 1985 a TWA passenger Boeing 727 aircraft, are seated on the wing of the jetliner 29 June 1985 at the Beirut airport

TWA Boeing 727 captain John L. Testrake (L) from Richmond, Missouri, emerges from the cockpit of his hijacked airliner at Beirut airport while a Shiite masked gunman (C) holding a machine-gun leaves the plane

The flight from Athens to Rome was hijacked by Shiite Muslims who weree been identified as members of Islamic Jihad

He was dragged to the opened aircraft door and thrown out onto the tarmac.

Some 34 years on, according to Athens News Agency, it appears Hammadi has been captured once again, arrested during a passport check of cruise ship passengers.

On Friday, he appeared before the prosecutor who ordered his arrest and detention until his extradition to Germany.

Hammadi rejoined Hezbollah upon his release from German prison and in 2007, the FBI announced a new $5 million reward for information leading to his recapture.

Greek media said the man had been arrested in Germany two years after the hijacking but was later exchanged with two Germans who were abducted in Beirut. He has remained a fugitive ever since.

Two of the hijackers of TWA Boeing 727 holding sub-machines, inspect 19 June 1985 at Beirut airport the hijacked jet-liner

One of two heavily-armed Lebanese Shiite militants, his face hidden with a bag, who hijacked a TWA passenger Boeing 727 aircraft, looks out from the door of the jetliner on June 20, 1985 at Beirut airport

Two of the terrorists are pictured walking out of the aircraft and onto the adjoining stairs

Two Lebanese Chi'ite Moslem gunmen, his face hidden with a bag, who hijacked 14 June 1985 a TWA passenger Boeing 727 aircraft, shout anti-US slogans 21 June 1985 during a rally at the Beirut airport

Who is Mohammed Ali Hamadi? Mohammed Ali Hamadi, pictured in 2004, left, and 2005, right Mohammed Ali Hamadi was arrested at the Frankfurt airport in Germany in 1988 for his part in the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the cold blooded murder of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem. Stethem was executed onboard the airliner and his body was then thrown onto the tarmac of Beirut airport. Hamadi was arrested in Frankfurt airport on January 13, 1987, carrying explosives in his luggage. The U.S. sought extradition, but the Federal Republic of Germany decided to prosecute Hamadi in Germany and, on May 17, 1989, convicted him of murder, hostage taking, assault, and hijacking. Hamadi was sentenced to life in prison however in December 2005 he was released from custody and returned to Beirut, Lebanon, where he is believed to have rejoined the terror group Hezbollah. Advertisement

A doctor arrives to attend to an indisposed TWA crew member

The passengers and former hostages from a TWA aircraft hijacked by Shiite Muslims while en route from Athens to Rome in June 1985 return to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C.

A Lebanese woman cleaning slogans written by the hijackers

Some released American passengers by the hijackers of the American TWA Boeing arrive at Houari Boumedienne airport in Algiers on June 15, 1985

An American hostage flashes the V-sign after her release

President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan (right) place a wreath at the grave of US Navy seaman Robert Stethem who was murdered by terrorists during the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 out of Athens. Stethem's relative stands at left.