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Romania charges Translator in Iraq hostages' case
Romania on Friday charged the translator for three Romanian journalists who were held in Iraq for 55 days, and an Arab businessman, of orchestrating the kidnapping. Prosecutors said the reporters' guide, Mohamad Munaf, who was seized with the journalists on March 28, and Romanian-Syrian businessman Omar Hayssam were charged with "initiating, funding and coordinating the March 28 kidnapping."The general prosecutor's office said the kidnapping was part of an elaborate plot aimed at turning Hayssam into a hero in Romania in the hope that it would help him escape potential punishment for previous charges of organized crime and economic-financial wrongdoings. "The abduction and threats by the Iraq group were aimed at triggering a strong psychological impact on the (Romanian) population, to depict Hayssam as a liberator of the journalists," it said in a statement. "Warrant arrests for 30 days were issued," it said. Prima TV reporter Marie Jeanne Ion, 32, cameraman Sorin Miscoci, 30, and reporter for Romania Libera daily Ovidiu Ohanesian, 37 were kidnapped along with Munaf while on a short trip to Baghdad. They were shown in tapes aired by Al Jazeera. The three returned home on Monday but Munaf remained in Iraq under U.S. custody for investigations. The U.S. embassy in Bucharest said he had information indicating "an imminent threat" to the coalition forces in Iraq. Hayssam, who lives in Romania, had told local media immediately after the kidnapping that he received a telephone call from the insurgents asking for $4 million in exchange for their freedom. Authorities, suspecting foul play, immediately arrested Hayssam for questioning. Romanian prosecutors said nine people captured in Baghdad in April in connection with the case, supplied the information leading to the charges brought against the two Arab businessmen. The abductors were reported to have political demands, threatening to kill the hostages unless Romania, a staunch ally of the United States, withdrew its 800 troops from Iraq, where about 150 foreigners have been seized in two years. But Romania made clear it would not pull out its troops. Al Jazeera video identified the abductors as the previously unknown "Squadrons of Mu'adh bin Jebel," which refers to a figure from early Islamic history. President Traian Basescu, who handled the hostage crisis, said their release "was an operation handled 100 percent by the Romanian secret services, which cooperated in an excellent way." In comments broadcast by Realitatea TV Basescu would not disclose how they were freed: "This thing will be kept on top-secret file, which can be declassified in 50 years." Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2005-05-27 |
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