Omar Hayssam has been granted parole through a final court decision

Omar Hayssam will be released immediately after the court admitted, on Friday, September 11, 2026, his request for conditional release. The decision is final and applies provided that he is not detained or arrested in another case.

The court overturned the criminal sentence issued on July 17, 2026, by the Bucharest District 4 Court and, rehearing the case, admitted the convicted man's request. Hayssam was serving a cumulative sentence of 24 years and 4 months in prison, based on a warrant issued in November 2015.

The judges drew his attention to the effects of conditional release and the provisions concerning the remaining unserved sentence. The Syrian national was convicted in several cases, including “Volvo,” “Foresta Nehoiu,” and the case involving the kidnapping of the three Romanian journalists in Iraq.

In October 2012, DIICOT indicted him in a fraud and embezzlement case. Hayssam fled Romania on June 30, 2006, and his departure led to changes in the leadership of several services and institutions. He was brought back to the country and imprisoned in July 2013.