London, UK - An Afghani who arrived in Britain on a hijacked jet has been granted asylum after converting to Christianity.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, used human rights rules to overturn a Home Office decision to throw him out of the country.
In a landmark case, the former Kabul hotel worker claimed that he could be executed under Sharia Law if he returned home after switching religions.
He was a passenger on the Boeing 727 that was taken over by nine Afghans in February 2000 and forced to fly to Stansted in Essex.
The 49-year-old father of two, who was not one of the hijackers, was a Muslim, but baptized as a Christian five years after arriving in the UK and now regularly attends church and bible classes in Hounslow, west London.
His lawyers said there were fears that, as an apostate - one who rejects the Muslim religion - would face persecution or even death if he returned to Afghanistan.
His conversion had already led to hostility from other Afghans and Muslims in London who spat at him in the street when rumours spread about his change of faith, the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Tribunal was told.
He was even threatened with death by two Afghans with whom he had shared a house in London and warned by others that he would be killed if he went back to Afghanistan.
Although the Afghan Constitution allows non-Muslims to practise their faith, the small Christian community practises exclusively underground and it is forbidden for Afghans to abandon Islam.
Lawyers for the Home Office argued he would be able to practise his faith if he found like-minded Christians in Kabul and 'kept his head down'.
But Senior Immigration Judge Nichols ruled that going home would expose him to a 'real risk of persecution' which violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
He said: 'The individual would have to keep his faith completely secret; he would have to live a lie.
'He may be forced to forego contact with others of his faith because of the danger and, significantly, would be constantly looking over his shoulder to avoid discovery in fear of the consequences.
'He faces a real risk of, at the very least, detention because of his religion and, at worst, trial before a Sharia Court and harsh punishment unless the he recanted his conversion.
'He could not rely on any intervention by the Afghan authority in that process and would not in any event be safe in Afghanistan, even if the government were able to intervene.'
The nine men who hijacked the airliner threatening to kill all 160 passengers unless they were granted asylum.
The gang were later jailed but cleared on appeal and freed to live comfortable lives in London with their families on benefits worth £150,000 a year.
In 2006, the gang were given 'discretionary leave' to remain in Britain as Afghanistan was 'unsafe' to return to.