text: Seven Iraqis charged with hijack . LONDON 1996-08-31 Seven Iraqi men appeared in court on Saturday charged with air piracy following the hijacking to Britain of a Sudanese airliner with 199 people aboard . The seven , including a carpenter and a businessmen and whose ages ranged from 25 to 38 years old , were ordered to be held in jail until another hearing next week . No pleas were entered at the preliminary hearing . They were accused of taking over Flight 150 which was flying from Khartoum , Sudan , to Amman , Jordan . All the hostages were freed on Tuesday after the plane landed at Stansted airport , north of London . The men have claimed political asylum in Britain saying they were persecuted while in Iraq . Their court appearance means they will face trial and possible imprisonment in Britain before their applications for asylum are considered . Under English law the maximum sentence for hijack is life imprisonment but there has been widespread speculation that the seven will receive lesser sentences . After a search of the aircraft following the hijack , police found only knives and fake explosives .