Miners’ riot file: Ion Iliescu, prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Former SRI Director Virgil Magureanu, also charged

The Prosecutor’s Office upon the Supreme Court announced on Wednesday the start of criminal prosecution in the miners’ riot file against several persons (among them former president Ion Iliescu, according to digi24.ro), for crimes against humanity, and for the violent repression of the demonstration in University Square on June 13-15, 1990 resulted in the death of four people and injuring another three.

Former President Ion Iliescu arrived Wednesday morning at the Prosecutor’s Office upon the Supreme Court (High Court for Cassation and Justice – ICCJ), where he was summoned to testify in the miners’ riot file and to be informed as being suspect for crimes against humanity, reopened in March this year. He made no statements before entering and when leaving, agerpres.ro informs.

The former president was heard by the Military directorate of the Prosecutor’s Office upon the Supreme Court.

Also heard in this file is the former Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) head Virgil Magureanu, who also arrived at the Prosecutor’s Office upon the Supreme Court Wednesday morning. Later in the day he was charged in the same file as suspect, also for crimes against humanity. While leaving the offices, Magureanu said he had been summoned “in order to reconstitute the truth, everything that happen at the time. It’s not just my contribution to reconstitute the truth. I can only help, that’s all.”

The Supreme Court confirmed on March 9 the decision of the Prosecutors’ Office upon the ICCJ to reopen the prosecution in the miners’ riot file for June 13-15, 1990. The investigation focuses on the circumstances in which several people were injured during the events that took place in Bucharest.

December 1989 Association President: I believe the file should be completed. I have no expectations, the same prosecutors are involved

The December 1989 Association President, Teodor Maries, said he has no one to have expectations from, in regard to the criminal prosecution in the miners’ riot file, because the same prosecutors are involved, but he believes the file must be completed with or without them.

“I have no expectations, the same prosecutors are involved. They had no choice but to reopen the case following the ECHR decision. But I believe that one day the file should be completed, with or without them. It’s the Romanian state’s obligation,” said Teodor Maries.

Maries showed that the Association filed a complaint in 1990 for assaulting and vandalizing its offices and for wounding several members during the miners’ riot, and in 2005 had to submit a new complaint to avoid the deeds prescribing.

He also said that the decision in 2009 not to start prosecution in this file was driven by complicity at the top of the Romanian justice.