The military prosecutors from the prosecutor of the Supreme Court have indicted on Friday, in the miners’ riot file, former President Ion Iliescu, former Prime Minister Petre Roman, former director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Virgil Magureanu and former Deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu, for crimes against humanity, and for the violent repression a rally in University Square, during June 13-15, 1990, resulted in the death of four people, three other gunshot injuries and for injuring and placing in confinement of about 1,000 people, digi24.ro reports. Also indicted are: Nicolae Dumitru – former Vice-PM of the National Salvation Front (FSN), reserve General Mugurel Cristian Florescu – former deputy of Romania’s Prosecutor General and head of the Military Persecutors Directorate.
June 13, 1990 is one of the most violent and mysterious days in Romania’s recent history. It was the last day of the marathon rally in University Square and at the same time, the day of huge diversions. The result: dead and wounded, the destruction of the buildings of the Interior Ministry and SRI, the discontinuation of the Public Television broadcasting, the only TV station at that time. June 13 was the signal for the coming to Bucharest of about 20,000 people from the Jiu Valley, Comăneşti, Brasov and Calarasi, people incited to violence against the political and civic opposition.
October 21 last year was the day the first persons were indicted. Former President – Ion Iliescu, former SRI Director – Virgil Magureanu, former Prime Minister Petre Roman and Victor Stănculescu, former Minister of Defence are among the ones accused of crimes against humanity. For delays in this investigation, Romania has been convicted several times to the ECHR, and the state has paid damages.
“The military prosecutors ordered a change in the legal classification and the conducting of further prosecution under the accusation of crimes against humanity, consisting in the violent repression of the rally in University Square on the morning of June 13, 1990 resulted in the death of four people, the injury by shooting of other three, the injury and confinement of approx. 1,000 people during June 14-15, 1990,” a statement issued by the Prosecutor General’s office reads.
“We can talk of a delay because it was established by the ECHR as well, because the miners’ victims have addressed the ECHR precisely because this issue has not been resolved with celerity. To my knowledge, the victims were given justice and following the approaches made to the ECHR all these investigations in the miners’ riot file were resumed, although it was closed at a time,” says Dan Voinea, former Military Prosecutor’s Office.
In 2009, the Prosecutor General’s Office acquitted all suspects in the criminal investigation of the miners’ riot file, including Ion Iliescu and Virgil Magureanu. Prosecutors said at the time: there were no deeds.
Prosecutor: The defendants decided a coordinated and organised attack against demonstrators
Military prosecutor Marian Lazar said on Friday that during June 11-15, 1990, the defendants decided, organized and coordinated “a generalized and systematic attack” launched against civilian population, against the protesters rallying in the University Square in Bucharest and against the population of Bucharest, attack involving the participation of the armed forces of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of National Defence, Romanian Intelligence Service and a number of over 10,000 miners and other workers from many parts of the country.
Military Prosecutor’s Office argues that the “attack” during June 11-15, 1990 had the following consequences: the killing by shooting of four people and injuring of other three by gunshot, facts representing seven material acts of the offence in the manner prescribed by article 439, paragraph 1, letter ‘a’ of the Criminal Code; physical or mental injury of a total of 1,269 people, facts that represent material acts of the offense in the manner prescribed by article 439, paragraph 1, letter ‘g’ of the Criminal Code; deprivation of the fundamental right to freedom, for political reasons, of a total of 1,242 people, facts that constitute material acts of the offense in the manner prescribed by article 439, paragraph 1, letter ‘j’ of the Criminal Code.
The criminal action for offences of crimes against humanity, according to article 439, paragraph 1, letter ‘g’ and ‘j’ of the Criminal Code is to be initiated against the following: reserve Admiral Emil ‘Cico’ Dumitrescu – former member of the Provisional Council for National Unity (CPUN) and head of the general Directorate for Culture, Media and Sports with the Interior Ministry; Cazemir Ionescu – former CPUN deputy speaker; Adrian Sarbu – former head of cabinet and adviser of the prime minister; Miron Cozma – former head of the Executive Bureau of the Free Miners’ Union ‘Valea Jiului’; Matei Drela – union leader at the Barbateni coal mine; Cornel Plăieș Burlec – former Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Mines; reserve General Vasile Dobrinoiu, former commander of the Higher Military School for Officers of the Interior Ministry; reserve General Peter Petre, former commander of Military Unit 0575 Magurele, belonging to the Interior Ministry.
The Military Prosecutor’s Office has announced that, in this file, prosecution is conducted against other 18 suspects for committing the same offenses of crimes against humanity.