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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Aug 23 2011 - 12:15:44 EDT
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/two-israeli-pilots-freed-after-being-held-in-eritrea-for-arms-smuggling-1.380281
Published 18:27 23.08.11
Latest update 18:27 23.08.11 Two Israeli pilots freed after being held in
Eritrea for arms smuggling Pilots detained on suspicion of smuggling spare
weapons' parts return to Israel after one month detention in capital Asmara.
After a month of intensive diplomatic efforts, two Israeli pilots who were
detained in Eritrea for a month on suspicion of arms smuggling, returned to
Israel on Tuesday.
Yehuda Maoz and Vered Aharonson, both worked for an Israeli company called
“Gesher Aviri,” or ‘air-bridge’ in Hebrew. They flew to Eritrea to make a
delivery which included an envelope containing spare parts. On arriving in
Eritrea, the items declared on their customs documents did not match the
contents of the envelope.
Foreign Ministry sources stated that the Eritrean customs authorities
suspected the pilots of trying to smuggle in spare parts of weapons.
The two pilots were held in a hotel in the capital Asmara for a month, while
Eritrean security forces did not allow the Israeli ambassador to visit them.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry suspected that the extended period of detention
would lead to an indictment, and that the pilots would be jailed in Eritrea.
In recent weeks, heavy diplomatic pressure has been applied on Ertirea by
Israel’s ambassador there and by Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem,
until the pilot’s release on Monday. Israel’s message to the Eritrean
authorities was that the pilots had been negligent in filling out customs
forms, but that they had not intended to smuggle weapons parts into the
country.
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