The intervention of a gendarme during Saturday’s protests in Bucharest will be analysed within the Interior Ministry, interim PM Mihai Fifor announced.
“I understand from Interior Minister Carmen Dan that they are currently analysing the manner in which the Gendarmerie took action. I am absolutely convinced that Minister Carmen Dan will draw the necessary conclusions after this review. After all, I believe that it was a protest that didn’t have any violent aspects. Gendarmes, as well as the other colleagues with the Interior Ministry, did their job,” Interim PM said.
Fifor added that citizens are free to protest and it’s best that these manifestations take place within the limits of normality and legality.
Moreover, the Military Prosecutor’s Office was notified ex-officio over this case on Tuesday, probing into the offense of abusive conduct.
Tens of thousands Romanians took to the street in Bucharest and other major cities on Saturday evening to march against the ruling coalition, the amendments to the laws of justice, the criminal codes and the tax code.
3,000 gendarmes were deployed in the Capital to ‘keep an eye’ on protesters, accompanying them on their route from Universitatii Square to Unirii Square.
However, incidents were reported between gendarmes and protesters in the Universitatii Passage, after the policemen formed a cordon and tried to stop people from climbing the stairs up to the road. Magheru Boulevard was occupied by protesters after the gendarme cordon had been broken.
After the protest, images with a gendarme punching demonstrators in Universitatii Square have flooded the media and have been shared on social media, stirring harsh criticism.
The man is seen punching hard several times some of the manifestants who were trying to force the gendarme cordon to occupy the roadway.
One of his colleagues, another gendarme intervened, telling the violent gendarme to stop and step away, Digi24 reported. The Bucharest Gendarmerie spokesperson, Georgian Enache told Digi24 that it has been “an individual action” of one of the gendarmes who has probably lost temper under pressure. Enache announced that internal checks are under way and that the Gendarmerie will not hesitate to assume its responsibility, if the case.
Moreover, police officer Marian Godina, famous for his rich social media activity and his interesting posts, revealed that the violent gendarme is the same gendarme who used to provide protection for PSD chairman Liviu Dragnea, when he was summoned to DNA to be heard in his corruption files.
Later on, journalists found out the gendarme is Raducu Serban, from Padina, Buzau county, who is activating within the Special Actions squad within the Romanian Gendarmerie’s ‘Tepes Voda’ Special Intervention Brigade, an elite unit.
He told journalists in a phone intervention that he has acted according to “orders”, as there were information the protesters were about to throw fences at gendarmes and violence was about to escalate.
At the same time, journalists also found out that Raducu Serban’s sister, Mihaela Burnel, is teaching Geography in Padina and has been sentenced to six months on probation for hitting one of her pupils. Moreover, media says that Mihaela Burnel is the daughter-in-law of the leader of PSD Padina.