Romanian journalists, Iraqi-American guide freed after 2-month captivity

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Three Romanian journalists and their Iraqi-American guide were freed Sunday after nearly two months in captivity in Iraq, the president's office said.\nThe release came a day after five representatives from the Romanian Islamic and Cultural League traveled to Baghdad, where they joined Islamic groups in Iraq in urging the captors to free the captives.\n"They are unharmed and we will announce to the public when they will return to the country," said Adriana Saftoiu, a spokeswoman for Romanian President Traian Basescu.\nThe three Romanians -- newspaper reporter Ovidiu Ohanesian, TV reporter Marie-Jeanne Ion and cameraman Sorin Miscoci -- were kidnapped in Iraq on March 28, along with their Iraqi-American guide and translator, Mohammed Monaf.\nTheir 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 or pay a ransom.\nA video aired on Al-Jazeera TV had shown the journalists in handcuffs with pistols pointed at their heads. Ion, a reporter for Prima TV, could be seen talking to the camera and clutching her hands as if pleading. In a separate audio message, they asked Romania's government to save their lives.\nMiscoci, of Prima TV, said he would be the first killed if the Romanian troops were not withdrawn. Al-Jazeera reported that Monaf, who has U.S. citizenship and is married to a Romanian, appealed to President Bush to intervene.\nIn recent weeks, Romanian authorities said they were in contact with the kidnappers and called on them not to kill the hostages. The government on Sunday gave no details about the conditions of their release.\nRomanians held rallies and prayer vigils urging the release of the three journalists and the guide.\n"It's over. The nightmare has ended. We are waiting for them to come home now," said Petre Mihai Bacanu, managing director of the newspaper that employs Ohanesian, Romania Libera.\nIon's father, Vasile Ion, said Basescu informed him about his daughter's release. Vasile Ion, a senator with the opposition Social Democratic Party, had urged Parliament to take a stand on the captors' demands.\n"I feel like a piece of me that was missing has now been restored," he told radio Europa FM. "I never lost hope."\nMiscoci's mother, Elena, thanked Basescu, the Arab community in Romania and the pan-Arabic television station Al-Jazeera for helping save her son. "I am happy ... I escaped from this continuous nightmare," she said.\nMore than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in April 2003. Some kidnappers have sought ransom, while others pursued political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq. More than 30 hostages have been killed.