Mohammad Munaf

[4] His habeas corpus petition to prevent his transfer to the Iraqi government was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court,[5] which denied certiorari; the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in Munaf v. Geren, which rejected Munaf's claims and ruled that his transfer to Iraqi custody was legally valid, was therefore allowed to stand.

In March 2005, Munaf, traveled to Iraq alongside three Romanian journalists, Marie Jeanne Ion, 32, Sorin Mişcoci, 30, and Ovidiu Ohanesian, 37, to act as their guide and translator.

The four hostages were held for approximately 55 days, during which time a video was recorded and broadcast with the journalists pleading for Romania to pull its troops out of Iraq.

The three Romanian journalists were freed, but Munaf was detained in MNF-I custody due to his suspected involvement in the kidnapping plan.

"[6] On April 24, 2008, Realitatea TV reported that the Bucharest Appeals Court sentenced Munaf to 10 years in prison, and 2,000,000 euros in penalties to each kidnap victim.

[7] Munaf's business partner Omar Hayssam was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison after a Romanian court found him guilty of masterminding the kidnapping.

[12] On October 19, Judge Royce Lamberth dismissed the petition and denied the motions for the temporary restraining order sua sponte.

[5] On February 29, it was announced by several organizations that the Associated Press, the American Bar Association, the committee to Protect Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, the PEN American Center and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press would be filing amici curiae on behalf of Munaf and Shawqi Ahmad Omar.

[21] After reviewing his complaint, the UNHRC rejected Munaf's claims, noting in July 2009 that "the Committee cannot find that the State party exercised jurisdiction over the author in a way that exposed him to a real risk of becoming a victim of any violations under the Covenant.