Cuba executes three men for ferry hijacking

Three men convicted of terrorism for last week's hijacking of a passenger ferry in Cuba were executed yesterday.

The men were prosecuted for "very grave acts of terrorism" on Tuesday and given several days to appeal against the sentences, a government statement said.

Cuba's Supreme Tribunal and the governing Council of State both upheld the death sentences, and "at dawn today the sanctions were applied", said the statement, read on state television. Four others received life sentences, and another four were sentenced to between two and 30 years.

The hijackers commandeered a ferry carrying about 50 people on 2 April and demanded that it be taken to the United States. Authorities later stormed the boat and rescued the hostages. No one was hurt.

The speed and severity of the punishment underscored Cuba's growing alarm and frustration at a string of hijackings that it blames on what it believes is a lax attitude by the US authorities toward hijackers who reach American shores.

Yesterday the government announced that it had foiled an attempt to hijack a plane on Thursday night.

The Council of State, which is headed by President Fidel Castro, studied the appeal over several hours, taking into account the seriousness of the penalty recommended, said the statement. The council also considered the "potential dangers that were implied not only for the lives of numerous innocent people but also for the nation's security".

The council decided that "the decisions of both courts were absolutely just and in accordance with law and it ratified the sentences".

Capital punishment in Cuba is always by firing squad. It has been used sparingly in recent years.

The hijackers, reportedly armed with at least one pistol and several knives, seized the ferry in Havana Bay and ordered the captain to sail to the US. The ferry ran out of fuel in the Florida Straits and, after much negotiation with Cuban coast guard officers, the hijackers agreed to let the vessel be towed back to Cuba for refuelling.

Back in port, the stand-off ended after aFrench female hostage jumped into the water, followed by other hostages.

The incident came a day after a Cuban airliner was hijacked to Key West, Florida, by a man carrying two fake grenades. Ten of the Cubans on board that flight opted to remain in the United States and 19 others asked to go home.

Another Cuban plane was hijacked to Key West less than two weeks earlier. (AP)