ECHR sentences Romania to pay damages to the victims of 1989 Revolution

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sentenced Romania to pay damages to the victims of the December 1989 Revolution, due to the delay in the investigation concerning the file.

The ECHR decision is the answer to a legal action initiated by 23 people against Romania. Complainants are participants or close relatives of those who participated in demonstrations and were injured or killed during the December 1989 events in Bucharest, Slobozia, Targoviste and Resita, events that led to the collapse of the communist regime, ziare.com informs.

The initiators of the legal action have complained that the Romanian authorities did not carry out an effective investigation in the events in December 1989 within a reasonable time.

The applicants claimed that Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that “the right of every person to life must be protected by law” and that “no one should be intentionally deprived of life” (…) has been violated.

The ECHR has determined that the violation of Article 2 is admissible at procedural level. According to the ruling, Romania has to pay, to the 23 applicants, in three months, non-pecuniary damages of EUR 15,000 and related court fees of EUR 345,000 in total.