Former President Ion Iliescu, indicted in the Revolution file

The Prosecutor’s Office upon the High Court of Cassation and Justice has announced in a press release on Friday that the prosecutors with the Military prosecutor’s offices have ordered the criminal action against defendants Ion Iliescu (member and president of C.F.S.N.), Gelu Voican Voiculescu (member C.F.S.N. and former deputy PM), Iosif Rus (former commander of the Military Air Force) and Emil (Cico) Dumitrescu (former member of CFSN), for crimes against humanity.

Iliescu, “at the date of the deeds, member and chairman of the National Salvation Front Council”, has been initially charged with deeds committed during December 27-31, 1989.

The National Salvation Front (CFSN)  was set up on December 22, 1989, as de facto body that exerted the central executive and legislative rule until the decree of December 27, 1989, when the president of the council also gained the position as head of state, in this case, Ion Iliescu.

Military prosecutors announced at the end of last year that investigation has substantially advanced in the Revolution file, with investigators ascertaining that evidence related to the organization of the revolution had been destroyed and that there had been three attempts to assassinate communist dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.

Prosecutors decided to hear numerous witnesses and collaborated with historians, writers and journalists who had boned up on the events of December 1989. They also decided to further check the military and civilian archives of the Romanian Senate.

“As the initiator and coordinator of the unique leadership command (military-political body), and later, as president of CFSN (which subordinated the Superior Military Council), Iliescu Ion accepted and formalized measures of military nature, some of which had an obvious diversionary character. By exercising full authority, Iliescu Ion could intervene to stop the diversionist phenomenon, but did not act in this respect.

Terrorist psychosis that hit high levels among armed soldiers and civilians, in conjunction with many military orders that had diversionary character (troop movements of some military units, mainly ordered overnight), resulted in numerous fratricidal fire and the opening of fire on people who did not work against the revolutionary movement,” the Prosecutor’s Office informed in the spring of this year when deciding to extend prosecution against Iliescu in this case.

Gelu Voican Voiculescu lashes at President Iohannis

Gelu Voican Voiculescu, also indicted in the Revolution file, has accused President Klaus Iohannis that he would be the one who had ordered the criminal proceedings in this file.

“These 860 people died until December 22 when Ceausescu’s execution was being announced, the authors of these crimes who were part of the so-called terrorist armed diversion were people in service to the former regime and they reacted for fear, but when they heard the two had been killed (Ceausescu couple) they surrendered. So, to say today that we ordered the killing of 860 people is a blasphemy and is part of the long series of a revenge (…) Did the Ceausescu pair not deserve to be executed? Now we are sorry for them, but at that time it was a revolution, which is not a gallant act, we followed up an aspiration of the entire population. Prosecutors have followed the orders of President Iohannis, who saidthat it is prosecutors’ time, and not the historians’ time. So, the obedient Prosecutor’s Office at that time started to investigate this file. It is the false impression that it was only now that Iohannis needed to come and shed light“, Voiculescu told Digig24.