Death Sentences For Kidnappers Of Romanians In Iraq

(RFE/RL) October 14, 2006 -- The U.S. embassy in Baghdad says a U.S. citizen and five Iraqi accomplices have been sentenced to death in Baghdad for kidnapping three Romanian journalists.

Romanian media identified the American as 53-year-old Mohammed Munaf, who worked as an interpreter for the reporters.

The reporters were kidnapped by an Iraqi gang in March 2005 and released two months later.

Munaf, who also holds Romanian and Iraqi citizenship, was accused of arranging their disappearance in order to claim a share of any ransom money.

(AFP, Mediafax)