EXCLUSIVE: Syrian Justice Evader Boasts Ease In Flight

Romania’s Intelligence Service tapped several phone calls between the Syrian and prosecutor Nastasiu, the person who accused Hayssam for kidnapping the Romanian journalists, and declassified and used the recordings during the trial of Mustafa Tartoussi. The latter is investigated in connection with the escape of Omar Hayssam.

The respective recordings are dated between August 14 and September 18, 2006.

The recordings were authorized by the chairman who at the time led the Bucharest Court of Appeals. In the transcript of the recording the prosecutor is called by the name of “Nic,” the way in which Hayssam preferred to call him.  

In certain paragraphs containing the discussions between the two, a simple “H.” represents Hayssam’s name.

"H: Yes. It says I fled the country. That is not true. I left like a real gentleman, holding my head high and dressed to the nines. I didn’t leave in a box or disguised as a shepherd…

Nic: Because you brought the matter up, I would like to ask how you managed to leave the country?

H: I left the country without any difficulty, like a gentlemen, all spruced up. At the time, I did not leave in a diplomatic car either….

Nic: But I was certain you could not have left it (the country) in any other manner except like a gentleman (laughs),” the transcript reads.

On the phone, Hayssam said he was constantly monitored and that the people who monitored him were “from the inside” and not the “outside.”

"H: Outside the country they couldn’t care less. I guarantee that. They don’t give a damn.

H: You read it, didn’t you? That I was followed until July 7?

H: Well … was not the Romanian Intelligence Service to say that they followed me until July the 7?

Nic: I was not aware of that. I mean….they said that you were not followed.

H: They are lying through their teeth.

Nic: So, you were followed?

H: Of course. They were the antiterrorism squad.

Nic: And when… they allowed you to leave the country like a gentleman?

H: No, no. This is something I cannot tell you right now. I will reveal this at the right time.

H: They followed me. The antiterrorism squad was on my trail the whole time.

Nic: And this was the reason why you decided to hold the interview there? Or you just…

H: No, I give you my word that this was not the cause. If I tell you… so…apart from one thing…related to some small gains, but this was the main reason.

Nic: (Your statements) were regarded as an insult brought to the Romanian state and the Romanian authorities.

H: For what? With what? What did I do to them? So many people left the country over the years and nobody seemed to care.

Nic: Well, maybe, but none of those people were suspected of terrorism to just ignore the authorities altogether. That is an insult.

Nic: In any case, could you at least tell me the method… via air, see or land in which you managed to leave the country?

H: How I left? By plane. I flew.

Nic: Civilian or military? Tell me how you managed to flee the country.

H: From the airport. From the airport.

H: Henry Coanda. By plane.

Nic: Civilian or military?

H: This I will tell you only in person.

Nic: But… with a commercial flight, you could have been recognized. Right? It was not a private plane right? And when did you leave the country? The exact date? So you are telling me you left the country from Henri Coanda airport, in a commercial plane.

Nic: Absolutely. So, this is set…we technically established the means through which you left the country. So I would kindly ask you to give me the official version. The technical part is set. And I repeat. If the satellite does not lie, the operator certainly does not.

H: I do not wish to create another identity for myself. I already told you : I did that when I left from Bucharest to Beirut, because I had to risk, and that was not something I wished to do, but this time I have no reason ( to create a new identity for myself.)

Nic: Oh, by the way. What passport was it? The country of origin?

H: It was a Romanian one.

Nic: What color did it have?

H: The Romanian color. You need to know that for any other citizenship except Romanian, you need to have a valid visa, introduced in a computer. 

H: There is only one option, and there are people who know it, but who will never tell

H: Yes, of course other people know (laughs), well… the people who did it…they would know, right? I did not just ….fly.

Nic: They may know, but it could have been… like you already said…via Otopeni, which means you had a passport…another one, right? Issued by certain authorities. Otherwise, how else could you have left the country?

H: I had to have a document…

Nic: And in what day did you leave the country?

H: For surely not the day you think I did (laughs).

Nic: Earlier or later? Later?

H: No, no later in respect to that date!

Nic: Did you know about the stakeout beforehand?

H: But it was with me, mister Nic.

Nic: But how, because no one was supposed to stake you out. So… from here with the car brands and license plates, what! 

H: I left having a Romanian passport, a valid one. With my picture on it and a different name.

Nic: With a different name? And nobody checked it?

H: My picture, with a different name and a different look.

Nic: A different look? You wore a wig or what? You grew a beard? You disguised yourself to look like a sheik or what? 

H: Come on… I’ve already said too much. I could not have disguised myself as a sheik having a Romanian passport (…)

H: My leaving was announced only to people I trust.

Nic: You talk about a stakeout? But who is being watched? Because no one assumes the responsibility for it.

H: If they deny it, then it is their business. 

H: They are watching my children and Violeta (Parvan, Hayssam’s concubine) and other people. For what? What good does that do? To prove that they are actually working… I would have liked to have the little one recorded because with my health….one can never tell. I wanted to declare her so as to be officially recorded, if God forbid, I pass away, so that she could have the same inheritance rights as all the others. I had certain messages to transmit about all these things, with my leaving and all…

H: This is what I wish to do for Romania from the distance, because it is the country where I lived since I was 18 years old. 

H: I told you, I left the country from the airport, with a passport… all nice and clean.

Nic: I understand, dressed to the nines, through the airport, I understand, but people say this is only a diversion, that it would have been impossible to leave the country in that manner, because there were stakeouts and video cameras. What disguise did you wear?  

H: ... You will see, you will see that my proof is more solid than the mere assumptions that I used the X or Y card,” the transcripts read.

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