WORLD : Sweden Extradites Soviet Teen; Was 1st of 5 Young Hijackers
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STOCKHOLM — A Soviet teen-ager who had hijacked a domestic Soviet airliner to Sweden by threatening the pilot with a fake hand grenade was extradited to the Soviet Union today.
Dimitry Semionov was believed to be the first person extradited from Sweden to the Soviet Union since the end of World War II, when some Baltic refugees were sent back. The Soviets claimed the refugees were Nazi sympathizers.
Semionov, 17, left on a scheduled flight at midday, escorted by four Soviet policemen, the national news agency TT said.
Semionov hijacked the aircraft on June 9 with 114 passengers and a crew of seven aboard, saying he wanted to leave his home in Byelorussia after a quarrel with his father.
He was the first of five Soviet youths to hijack Soviet domestic airliners to Sweden or Finland since June 9. All of the hijackers falsely claimed to be carrying explosives, and all surrendered peacefully.
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