A Russian woman with permanent U.S. residency who managed to sneak onto a flight from New York to Paris recently made her first court appearance in Brooklyn. The woman, Svetlana Dali, claimed that she had been abused and poisoned after arriving in Paris, leading to her return to the United States despite requesting asylum.
During her court appearance, Dali's attorney stated that she believed her treatment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn amounted to torture. She claimed to have been placed in a cold room where she felt sick and eventually lost consciousness. Dali expressed concerns for her safety while being held at the detention center.
Her lawyer requested a spectrometer test to determine if she had been poisoned, though the availability of the device at the jail was uncertain. Dali's bail hearing was postponed to gather more information for a bail package, with the government expressing concerns about her being a flight risk.
The criminal complaint filed against Dali revealed that she admitted to sneaking onto a Delta Air Lines flight as a stowaway. Surveillance footage showed her bypassing security measures and boarding the flight without a boarding pass. Delta Air Lines acknowledged the incident and stated that deviations from standard procedures were the root cause of the security breach.
The airline expressed gratitude to French and U.S. authorities for their assistance and emphasized the importance of safety and security. The case continues to unfold as Dali faces charges related to her unauthorized boarding of the flight.
