Journalists kidnapped as president visits Iraq

(29 Mar 2005)
1. Various of journalists in newsroom of Prima TV
2. Head of News for Prima TV, Dan Dumitru, speaking on phone
3. Journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dan Dumitru, Head of News, Prima TV:
"A nightmare. It was a nightmare. At eight o'clock I received a call from our crew in Baghdad. Suddenly, at that moment I understood that they were kidnapped. We are devastated and we will try to do our best to save them."
5. Still photographs of the two missing journalists
6. Dumitru on phone inside newsroom
7. Presidential plane arriving at Bucharest airport
8. Romanian President Traian Basescu, walking from plane
9. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Traian Basescu, Romanian President:
"All state structures are on high alert to try to free these journalists. Also during my flight I contacted our allies and asked for their support in this matter."
10. Mobile phone with the message from the kidnapped crew
11. Message reading: "Do not call, we are kidnapped, call the embassy."
STORYLINE:
Three Romanian journalists have been kidnapped in Baghdad, the government said on Tuesday.
According to an employee at their hotel, the three were abducted from a street next to the hotel, which is not in the city's heavily fortified Green Zone, at about 8:30 p.m. on Monday (1730GMT).
Two of those reportedly taken on Monday were from from Romania's Prima TV.
According to Dan Dumitru, Head of News at Prima TV, he received a phonecall from their crew in Baghdad informing him of the disappearance of the two journalists.
The broadcaster lost contact with their correspondent Marie Jeanne Ion, 32, and the cameraman Sorin Dumitru Miscoci, 30, on Monday.
Dumitru, described the situation as a "nightmare". He said the company "was doing all it could to save them."
According to reports, Ion was on the phone with her newsroom when she and Miscoci were kidnapped.
Her colleagues could overhear the conversation she had with their abductors.
Ion managed to convey the message that the two were in a car heading towards the Al Amiriya district.
The journalists have been in Iraq for five days.
They had not travelled with President Train Basescu, who was in Iraq and Afghanistan for two days visiting troops.
On his return Basescu said his government was doing all it could to find the journalists.
He said Romania had sought the help of U.S.-led coalition authorities in Iraq.
The director of the Libera newspaper that employs the third journalist kidnapped in the group, Ovidiu Ohanesian, 37, said no group had claimed responsibility and no ransom demand had been made.

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