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Row over Russian law to shoot down hijacked plane

Vladimir Radyuhin

The measure calls on the Defence Minister to approve a complicated verification procedure before action

MOSCOW: A row has broken out in Russia over a new law that authorises the military to shoot down hijacked passenger planes.

Russian human rights activists have launched a campaign for striking down the provision from an anti-terror bill approved by the Russian Parliament last week. The bill calls for, among other things, forcing to land or destroy "aircraft that are being used for committing a terrorist act or have been hijacked by terrorists."

The law states that anti-air defences may shoot down an aircraft after confirmation that it has been hijacked and if its flight path poses a threat to vital targets or sites with a high concentration of people.

"Civil Control" group based in St. Petersburg has demanded that airtickets for Russian flights contain a mandatory warning — "The flight you are travelling by may be shot down if the anti-terror centre concludes that there are terrorists onboard." The group's lawyers said air passengers have the right to know about the potential threat to their lives. Similar warnings should also be posted near booking offices.

Opposition politicians share this view. "The decision to destroy 200 hostages on a plane in order to save an administrative building or some other target will be highly questionable from the moral and ethical point of view," said Homeland Party leader Dmitry Rogozin.

Supporters of the law argue that shooting down a hijacked plane may avert 9/11 type terror attacks on vital installations including nuclear reactors.

"Decision to use force will be taken if a plane seized by terrorists is headed towards a nuclear power station, for example," said Defence and Security Committee of the upper House of Parliament Viktor Ozerov.

The anti-terror law calls on the Defence Minister to approve a complicated verification procedure before air defence forces can be ordered to shoot down a passenger plane.

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