Iraqi Court Sentences Two Men To Life For Kidnapping Romanian Journalists In 2005

The two convicts have only been identified by the initials A.A. and A.Y. and their role in the kidnapping has not been revealed.

Romanian journalists Marie Jeanne Ion, Sorin Dumitru Miscoci, and Ovidiu Ohanesian were kidnapped in Iraq in March 2005 and released two months later.

Omar Hayssam, a Syrian-Romanian businessman, was convicted to 20 years in prison by a Romanian court for masterminding the kidnapping. Hayssam was arrested in May 2005 but fled the country when he was released on medical grounds one year later.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in November 2010 Hayssam was serving a prison sentence in Syria and the two countries signed an extradition treaty.