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BONN, West Germany - The West German government said Friday that a Lebanese thought to be a pro-Iranian terrorist could be extradited to the United States only if a commitment was given that he would not be subject to the death penalty.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested the extradition of the 22-year-old Lebanese, Mohammed Ali Hamadei, who has been identified as one of two terrorists who hijacked a Trans World Airlines (TWA) plane while it was flying from Athens to Rome and diverted it to Beirut in June 1985. They and two others have been indicted in the United States in the hijacking and the killing of an American passenger.
According to the authorities, Hamadei was arrested at the Frankfurt airport Tuesday when liquid explosives were discovered in his luggage.
Jurgen Schmid, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry, said Hamadei could not be delivered to the United States until written guarantees were given that he would not be subject to the death penalty. West Germany, which has no provision for the death penalty, demands similar commitments in all major extradition cases, the spokesman said.
``The United States,`` Schmid said, ``must undertake that he will not face the death penalty or that if convicted on a capital charge, the death penalty will not be carried out.``
In Washington, Terry Eastland, a Justice Department spokesman, said he had no comment on the West German announcement. ``We very much want him,`` Eastland...