Former Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, arraigned for manslaughter in policeman Gigina’s death file

Former Deputy Premier and Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, has been arraigned for manslaughter in the policeman Bogdan Gigina’s death file, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) has informed on Wednesday.

According to the source, in the file, the prosecutors of the Section for Combating Corruption have decided the arraignment of the following defendants:

• Oprea Gabriel – at the date of the deeds First Deputy Prime Minister for National Security and Interior Minister, for manslaughter;
• General PMP Impex SRL, for manslaughter;
• Mazilu Petre – manager of the above mentioned company, for manslaughter.

The indictment reads that the prosecutors have found out: on the evening of October 20, 2015, Police Agent Gigina Bogdan Cosmin, aged 28, was involved in a traffic accident on a street in Bucharest, following which he suffered cerebral haemorrhage, resulted from cerebral and facial traumatism, with cranium fracture and lesions that caused his death, hotnews.ro informs.

When the accident occurred, the victim, Gigina Bogdan Cosmin, was part of a motorcade for Minister Gabriel Oprea, heading the car in which the minister was travelling. At the time of the accident, the minister was heading towards his home.

According to the indictment, the traffic accident which led to the death of the Police Agent Gigina Bogdan Cosmin, occurred due to the violation – by defendants Oprea Gabriel (the then Interior Minister), Mazilu Petre (the then manager and sole associate of General MPM Impex SRL) and General PMP Impex SRL – of the legal provisions and measures of certain activities (motorcade in the first case, street works in the latter’s case).

Actually, since taking over, at the beginning of 2014, the office of Interior Minister, defendant Gabriel Oprea decided – by violating the legal provisions regarding the safety of dignitaries provided by the traffic police – his constant escort by a police motorcade and since June 2015 he decided that this motorcade should include a motorcycle traffic police agent.

In this way, Oprea Gabriel had discretionary taken over unlawful ‘rights’, which meant higher risks for traffic police, and also decided to travel at higher speed. Consequently, defendant Gabriel Oprea placed the escorting policemen in a high risk situation, in activities with high potential for road accidents, the same source reads.

In regard to Mazilu Petre and General PMP Impex SRL, by violating the legal provisions in terms of road signalling, both failed to instruct the employees on proper signalling of the roads and provided handmade traffic signs (…) which led to the improper signalling on the Stirbei Voda Street in Bucharest, where the accident took place.

DNA has completed the investigation into the death of police officer Bogdan Gigina, in which former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea was prosecuted for committing a crime of manslaughter, for which the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ – Supreme Court) had set the deadline on May 1.

The case prosecutor completed the investigation and forwarded it to the hierarchical chief to confirm the solution, the sources say.

The ICCJ has ruled on February 1, 2018 that the DNA must complete the investigation in the case of policeman Bogdan Gigina’s death by May 1.

Bogdan Gigina died in a car accident while leading the former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea’s motorcade in the autumn of 2015.

The prosecutors have investigated this case for more than two years.