Ex-Hostages Welcomed Home in Romania
Three Romanian journalists who had been held hostage in Iraq for nearly two months arrived home aboard a military plane Monday, a day after being freed.
Reporter Marie Jeanne Ion and cameraman Sorin Miscoci, both of Prima TV, and Ovidiu Ohanesian, a reporter from the daily newspaper Romania Libera, were kidnapped in Baghdad on March 28 with their Iraqi American guide, Mohammed Monaf.
The four were freed Sunday. The journalists flew Monday to Romania, where they were greeted by President Traian Basescu and hundreds of journalists and friends.
Monaf remained in Iraq in U.S. custody, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest said.
Their kidnappers had threatened to kill the hostages unless Romania pulled its 800 troops out of Iraq. Basescu refused, saying Romania would not negotiate its foreign policy with the kidnappers nor pay a ransom.
A video aired on satellite TV channel Al Jazeera showed the journalists in handcuffs with pistols pointed at their heads. Ion could be seen talking to the camera and clutching her hands as if pleading.
The government gave no details about how the captives’ freedom was gained.
After landing in Bucharest, the three Romanians, who appeared to be in good health, exited the plane and hugged their families.
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