EgyptAir hijacker knew how to ‘inflict misery’

The ex-wife of an Egyptian man who authorities say admitted to hijacking an EgyptAir flight and threatened to blow it up with a fake suicide belt says her ex-husband is an “extremely dangerous man” who used drugs, terrorised his family, and beat her and their children.

Cypriot Marina Paraschou rejected media reports that 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa hijacked the Airbus A320 with 72 passengers and crew onboard out of love for her.

In an interview published in the daily Phileleftheros, Ms Paraschou said Mr Mustafa never asked to speak to her and police only asked her to identify his voice.

She said Mr Mustafa was a “fanatical” Palestine Liberation Organisation supporter who bragged about participating in the killing of three Israeli soldiers and was jailed for four years in Syria.

“Most of the media painted a picture of a romantic situation in which a man was trying to reach out to his estranged wife,” she said.

“But that couldn’t be further from the truth and they would have a different opinion if they knew what he was really like. It was a marriage of hell with threats, beatings and fear. He was a man who knew how to inflict fear and to create misery.”

Ms Paraschou, 51, met Mr Mustafa in 1983, when she was 18 years old, and married him two years later.