An Iraqi-American man convicted in the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq in 2005 was handed over to Romania on Thursday and is now in police custody, officials said.
Iraqi-born Mohammad Munaf — sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison in 2008 by a Romanian court — was brought to Romania "having been located in the Middle East, following a wide operation conducted by domestic and international partners," said Romanian intelligence agency official Ovidiu Marincea.
Munaf was the journalists' guide at the time of the kidnapping; he claimed to be a victim of the abduction. The journalists were released after 55 days in captivity.
Munaf, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had been held by the U.S. military in Iraq from May 2005 until being transferred to Iraqi authorities in 2006. An Iraqi court sentenced him to death by hanging, but the sentence was overturned in 2008 due to errors in the judicial procedure.
Romanian authorities said there has been an international arrest warrant for Munaf since 2011.
A Syrian businessman is serving a 20-year sentence in Romania for masterminding the kidnapping.
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