Woman threatens to blow up plane
A WOMAN threatened to blow up a TRNC-bound Pegasus Airlines flight from İstanbul on Wednesday, causing panic and anger among passengers.
The woman, named as “Nigar D”, shouted that she was member of the Fetö terrorist organisation and that she “had a bomb” as passengers boarded the 6.45am flight, number PC 1930, from Sabiha Gökçen to Ercan airport.
Images showed the woman wearing sunglasses and her face covered up, yelling: “I am a member of Fetö. I will do whatever was done on [the failed military coup of] July 15 [2016]. I will blow myself up as a suicide bomber. Prisons are full.”
She threatened fellow passengers — some of whom reacted angrily — and criticised the “overall moral decadence” and “bad habits” of “gambling, prostitution, alcohol and insults” in North Cyprus. She also yelled that she was going to “blow up the Noah’s Ark hotel” in Bafra, a popular destination for Turkish tourists.
Police boarded the aircraft immediately and escorted the woman off the plane before detaining and interrogating her.
She was remanded in custody on charges of “hijacking or seizing an aircraft”. The suspect who was said to have been undergoing “psychological treatment”, was then transferred to Bakırköy Mental Hospital.
At an İstanbul court appearance on Thursday it was said that she had been travelling to the TRNC to visit her son and that prior to boarding she went to a prayer room but was told by another woman that she could not pray there “wearing trousers” and was given an “outfit” to wear.
When the boarding call was made she “could not take off those clothes”, the court heard.
“Also, I had eaten a cookie which upset [my stomach] and I needed to use the toilet,” she told the court, adding that she was “mentally normal but could not remember what happened” after boarding the plane, according to Turkish media reports.
“After I got on the plane I did not have the chance to tell the stewardess that I needed to use the toilet,” she was quoted as saying in court.
“I sat in my seat and put on the seat belt. I felt really [unwell]. When the passengers behind me made annoying remarks at me, I started shouting ‘I have a bomb’.”