The Kidnapping in the Court of Law

The Syrian businessman Omar Hayssam and his partner, Mohammad Munaf, have been brought to justice in the case of the kidnapping of the three Romanian journalists in Iraq.
After half an year of investigations in Bucharest and Baghdad, the general prosecutors have decided that the two Arabian citizens are guilty for setting-up the kidnapping of journalists Marie-Jeanne Ion, Sorin Miscoci and Ovidiu Ohanesian.

THE ACCUSATIONS. According to the investigators, Omar and Munaf had a deal about this with an Iraqi terrorist organization based on a plan made many months earlier. Everything was planned including Omar’s schizophrenia was certified in due time by Munaf’s sister, a doctor in London, judicial sources say. The two were trying to use the kidnapping and the "saving" of the journalists as a mean for getting a lot of money and the names of "heroes". However, the terrorists with whom the two had dealt had other plans with the hostages and used them for making political demands. Marie-Jeanne Ion and Sorin Miscoci will be the only ones to ask for damages for the agony in the 55 days of captivity, but they are yet to settle for a sum.

Munaf is still in the Americans’ arrest, but the extradition procedures have started at the end of September. During the investigation, he admitted the planning of the kidnapping. In exchange, Omar has constantly pleaded innocent. The two will be judged at the Appeal Court in Bucharest they could do 20 years if guilty.