The first President of Romania Ion Iliescu, now 95 years old, will again appear before judges in the case of crimes against humanity, IPN reports.
The same case features former Prime Minister Petre Roman, former Deputy Prime Minister Gelu-Voican Voiculescu, former director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Virgil Măgureanu, Adrian Sârbu, former chief of staff of Petre Roman, Miron Cozma, former leader of the miners in Valea Jiului, retired general Vasile Dobrinoiu, former commander of the Superior Military School of Officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and retired colonel Peter Petre, former commander of Military Unit 0575 Magurele, within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to Agerpres.
"In June 1990, the highest ranking officials in the state at that time, Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman, Gelu-Voican Voiculescu, helped by other people close to the power or who supported it, including Virgil Măgureanu - director of the SRI, Adrian Sârbu - adviser to the prime minister - launched a policy of repression against the civilian population in the capital city, as a result of which four people were killed, two people were raped, the physical and/or mental integrity of more than 1,300 people was harmed and more than 1,200 people were persecuted through unlawful deprivation of liberty," the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania said in a press release.
A demonstration that later became known as Mineriada was held in the University Square in Bucharest from April 22, 1990 until June 15, 1990.
The demonstrators showed their opposition to the power established in Romania after the 1989 Revolution, verbally demanding, through communiqués and other forms of protest, to break away from the communist regime that was replaced in December 1989, to promote people who did not have a past as party activists, to establish a free television, and formulating other democratic requests.
In this connection, Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman, Gelu-Voican Voiculescu, Virgil Măgureanu and other people from the state leadership or the National Salvation Front launched an attack against the demonstrators in the University Square, which was in fact a pretext meant to mask the repressive action against the people who had previously participated in these demonstrations, especially opinion leaders, as well as against any person who manifested some form of opposition or who fell into categories that, in their opinion, could manifest potential opposition, especially students, intellectuals or people who supported the Western values, said the quoted.
Ion Iliescu and the other defendants were to be tried in this case in 2017, but the courts ordered the case to be returned to the Military Prosecutor's Office in order to conduct again the investigation from scratch.
Due to his advanced age and the fact that he can no longer move, the prosecutors had to go to Iliescu's house to accuse him of the violence of June 1990.
The case will be tried by the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania.
Photo source: mediaflux.ro
