Omar Hayssam will be taken into custody by immigration police after his conditional release. He has no right of residence in Romania

Omar Hayssam will be taken into custody by officers of the General Inspectorate for Immigration after his conditional release from prison, decided on Friday, September 11, 2026, by the Ilfov Tribunal. The Syrian national does not hold Romanian citizenship and has no regulated right of residence in Romania.

According to the GII, officers will verify Hayssam’s legal status under Emergency Ordinance No. 194/2002 on the regime of foreign nationals. Depending on the authorities’ findings and the conditions stipulated by law, the appropriate measures will be taken.

The Ilfov Tribunal granted the application for conditional release and ordered his immediate release, provided that he is not detained or arrested in another case. Hayssam was serving a sentence of 24 years and four months, handed down in the “Manhattan” case involving economic crimes.

Omar Hayssam also has convictions for the kidnapping of Romanian journalists in Iraq, in the “Volvo Truck” case, in the “Foresta Nehoiu” case, and for illegally crossing the border. In 2006, he was conditionally released on the grounds that he was suffering from terminal cancer, but he fled Romania. He was brought back to the country in 2013.